Aftermath
by Erinskie
Summary: Scout, Pony's twin sister, is sought by a soc after the death of Johnny and Dallas. How will her new life in the soc world mesh with her old neighborhood and friends? Love and conflict are certain. Part 5 of 6. Reviews appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

_**For new readers to this story **please note this is a sister story. Landslide is the fourth story entry with a character named Scout Marie Curtis, a.k.a.-Sissy _

**In my brother's gang they often called me by my nickname, Sissy. My oldest brother Darrel actually gave me the name when I was about seven. All of the boys in the neighborhood wrestled and played rough... Darry always told me to get into the game. One day I told him I didn't want to get hurt and he has called me Sissy ever since. For the longest time my parents thought he called me Sissy because I was the little sister. They were not to happy to hear the truth later that Darry was actually teasing me **

_- Story excerpt from Family Bond _

_Scout is the 'seven minutes younger' twin sister to Ponyboy, her intelligence and common sense levels are higher than her twin's yet she is more analytical like Darry and less creative then Pony. She is very quiet and shy and not a "greaser girl". She is tough when she needs to be, but prefers to stay clear of violence whenever possible. She gets along very well with all of her brothers, even Darry. _

_At the beginning of the summer she met a girl named Casey who taught Scout how to be less of a 'tomboy' and more of a woman. Casey and Scout got along as well as Johnny and Ponyboy or Steve and Sodapop. Two weeks prior to Landslide Casey convinced Scout to skip the weekly football game and go to her house to have her nails painted and read woman's magazines. Scout agreed and she became involved in a traumatic family situation in which Casey's father, Duke Dobbins, shot his daughter then turned the gun on Scout. _**"You never heard anything, you never saw anything." Duke said as he stood in the middle of the room and looked down at me. **

**I tried to answer him through my intense fear. "Never … saw …." **

"**Damn straight you didn't." Duke smiled causing his mustache to lift. He raised his hand up revealing the gun. I couldn't take my stare from the darkness of the barrel. Duke pulled back the hammer on the gun. I closed my eye's tight, and shook. In the distance the sound of an approaching squad car caused Duke to curse out loud and flounder in his decision. I opened my eyes to see him pace nervously then he reeled around toward me and pointed the barrel of the gun in my direction, BANG! – **_excerpt from Escalation_

_Scout physically survived the attack on her life, but mentally and emotionally her wounds were still open. Before she could fully recover Ponyboy wandered in past curfew launching the biggest fight Ponyboy and Darry had ever had. In a moment Ponyboy darted out of the house, leaving the family bond in pieces. _

**My heart jumped as Darry struck Ponyboy out of anger. My twin's body was propelled to the floor by the impact. For a second no one in the room drew a breath…Ponyboy leapt up from the floor and bolted out the front door. **

**I wanted to yell to my brother as he ran past, his eyes welling with tears, but all I could muster was a soft spoken call, "Pony?" Before I could speak again Darry and Sodapop ran to the door. I spun around on the couch, propped up on my knees and peeked through the blinds just in time to see my brother disappear into the darkness…**

"**Sodapop, you know I didn't mean too?" Darry began to plead for forgiveness. "I would never mean to hit Ponyboy or any of you. I just reacted." …**

… **I stood before Darry with angry tears flooding my eyes. "You did mean too! …I can't believe I ever stuck up for you! All those nights of telling Pony how much you cared for him were a waste! Ponyboy was right all along, you only kept us two around because Soda wouldn't forgive you if you didn't. You don't really want us here. You never did!" I hurriedly wiped the tears from my eyes wishing I hadn't given Darry the satisfaction of making me cry. **

"**I bet you're happy now that Pony's gone!" For the first time in a long time Darry was speechless. He stood there and his mouth moved slightly but no words could come out. I watched him carefully as he suffocated from my words… It wasn't until that moment I noticed Darry's lip quiver. I looked into his icy cold eyes and saw the whites begin to flood with red. I froze in place and became aware of the unstoppable stream of tears on Darry's face. He was crying. Not just a little, he was ready to break down and cry out loud... – **_excerpt from Landslide_

_The days pass without Ponyboy at home and the family is challenged as Sodapop's hear is shattered, Scout is an emotional wreck and the gang can't get a break as Two-Bit gets jumped and Dally arrested. Finally, Scout realizes she can no longer stay at home waiting for her brother to return. She must go and find him. In the early morning hours she sets out to find him and does so with the unexpected help of Dallas. Her happy reunion with Ponyboy soon goes up in smoke and all four of the friends battle the blazes to save the children and each other._

"**Ok he's free! He's free, get out of here!" Dallas yelled at me and hoisted Johnny up underneath his armpits to drag him out. **

**I turned to exit the inferno and mistakenly exhaled a large amount of toxic smoke. Gagging for fresh air I stumbled through the burning wood and embers toward the exit before falling to the floor in a fit of coughs. I looked up through the smoke at Dally who leaned Johnny's limp body out the window to be caught by the teachers below. I struggled to stand as cinders singed my hair ... Dally noticed my struggle and grabbed a hold of my sweatshirt as the wooden floor began to lurch beneath us. **

"**Get … out, Scout!" He coughed and yelled as the wind from outside blew through the tattered building causing the fire to swell and the temperature to rise. To shelter me from the raging flames Dallas Winston wrapped me in his arms. With the brightness of the firelight I could see Dally's jacket and arm were badly burned. I turned my head to him in fear and looked into his now protective eyes…When the strong wind passed the flames were reduced and Dally hoisted me off the floor and heaved me out the window. I landed with a thud on the hard ground below and gasped for fresh air. In seconds Dallas was beside me on his hands and knees searching for the same breath as I was and cursing the burnt skin on his arm. Suddenly the sound of gunfire went off and the two of us covered our heads for safety. **

**The sound triggered memories for me that I would have rather forgotten. I tried to stand up in a hurry to flee, but the motion and lack of fresh oxygen made my head swirl and soon the world disappeared into a sea of darkness.**

_Scout returned with her friends to Tulsa and was reunited with her family. The next day she was relieved to have the gang home again, even though things looked glum for Johnny after her, Two-Bit and Ponyboy went to visit him in the hospital. Scout opted to spend the afternoon at the DX station with Sodapop and she was soon reunited with a handsome blond headed boy who had befriended her only days before when she was caught alone in a thunderstorm. _

**I studied Sodapop as he took care of his new customer's car... I cleared my mind and glanced up at the popular blond boy a second time only to have him catch me looking…I watched him approach. I could tell through his fancy clothes and jacket that he was muscular and athletic. "Scout, right?" He took one hand out of the pocket of his jacket and casually pointed at me…It was Owen Jasper from the cemetery. I half smiled as my stomach turned nervous. "Yeah," …**

**Owen plopped down on the curb next to me as if we were good friends. "You weren't in school Friday like you said you'd be." **

**I remembered the day he dropped me off at my house. I told him I would see him at school the next day. "Yeah… I kind of made other plans."**

"**I'll say! I read about you in the newspaper this morning." Owen looked across the lot at his friends then back to me… **

"**O!" The tall redheaded boy in the Lettermen's jacket called out. "We got plenty of girls! Let's go!" **

**Owen looked at me with his ocean blue eyes, "I gotta go. We've got plans for tonight." The boy stood up and looked down at me one last time. "I better see you at school on Monday!" **

**I stood up and looked into his eyes, "you can count on it." I told him with a smile. **

**He walked backwards a few steps to keep me in his sights, "you better be there or I'll be pretty disappointed," then he turned and jogged back to his friends. He hopped into the backseat of the convertible and a few girls piled in around him hoping for attention. My heart fluttered with excitement and I couldn't wait for the weekend to be over.**

_But the evening would only end in tragedy for everyone in the gang as Johnny dies, Dallas is shot to death in front of his friends, Ponyboy collapses and Scout loses her mind. _

**The sound of the shots echoed through my mind. I heard Darry berate the officers then Ponyboy mumbled. "… Johnny, now Dallas…" My brother's words caused me to turn toward him, the sound of bullets whizzing through the air, still clear in my ears. I watched him collapse to the pavement. I turned back toward the approaching officers and saw Duke Dobbins standing among them. I saw the smoking gun in his hand and the edges of his black handlebar mustache curl up as he smiled. I convinced myself Duke had killed Dally! He had shot Ponyboy! He had driven Casey from my life. "You bastard!" I screamed with every ounce of energy and hate I had in me. "You killed her! You killed her and now you killed them!" **

**Hot tears flowed from my eyes and each of my muscles filled with rage as I charged at the man. I grabbed a hold of him, punching, kicking and scratching as violently as I could… Quickly his friends grabbed my body and pinned me to the wet street. I struggled to get free but the men seized my arms and pulled them behind my back… Darry watched in shock as the officers wrestled me to the ground. "Let her go! She didn't mean it…!" He begged the policemen, but kept his distance just enough to not anger the officers. **

"**Get her in the car!" One angry officer yelled as he wiped a stream of blood from under his nose. **

"**You can't haul her away!" Two-Bit's voice cracked as he walked up to Darry's side. **

_An ally, Mr. Ottavi, appears and saves Scout from being sent away. Instead, she joins her brother in the hospital for recuperation. She recovers just in time to attend Dallas and Johnny's funeral where she would again meet a boy who would begin to change her life. I hope you will join others in following Scout along her journey in Aftermath._

_The very beginning of this saga begins with the story Family Bond followed by Coming of Age, Escalation , Landslide and now_ Aftermath_. If you enjoy sister stories or any story that is written well you may just find this series to be amazing, entertaining and able to keep your interest, others have. I hope you enjoy!_

**Disclaimer:** This fanfiction entry is based on the book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Many of the characters in this story are her creation and I thank her for creating them and allowing so many writers to borrow them for our writing hobby. Many of the characters in this are my original creation as well.

AFTERMATH 

**Chapter one **

Owen Jasper was a gentleman as he held the car door open for me to get in. I sat down and folded my hands in my lap while he shut the door. Being in his car felt uncomfortable. Everything was new and well kept. There were no rips in the seat cushions or rust on the floorboards like the cars I was used to riding in.

The young man started the engine and pulled away from the side of the road. Slowly, we crept through the cemetery. This time I remembered where my parents were buried. I looked at their small markers as we drove past.

"I bet it's tough… missing them everyday." Owen tried to start a conversation. I swallowed hard to hold back tears and didn't answer. Owen was patient and waited another block before he spoke again. "That's a pretty big bruise on your cheek there. Does it hurt much?" I put my hand to my face to hide the mark, but didn't answer. The boy was persistent. "It's not fair. All this happening to a real nice girl like you."

For days I had been rationalizing the week's past events in my mind. I watched the buildings pass by for another block before I joined the struggling conversation and muttered. "It's all my fault."

"What's your fault?" Owen's face held a look of confusion, "the bruise?" .

"No, Johnny and Dally's death. Hell, probably even Bob Sheldon's."

"How is _any_ of this your fault?"

I turned and looked toward Owen, tears in my eyes. "After my mom and dad died the judge wanted me out of my neighborhood. They wanted Darry to put me up for adoption, but I was too selfish. I wouldn't let him do it."

"I don't understand… what does that have to do with any of this?"

"Don't you see? It only takes one small event to change the course of time. If I would have done what was best, everybody's lives would have been different." I spoke in a murmur. "Darry would have been able to work just one job, so he could have looked after Ponyboy and Sodapop better. I would have never been jumped by the Socs, never been in Casey's house when her dad showed up, never shot at. Darry and Ponyboy would have never had the fight that led up to today and my friends would still be alive and happy." I wanted to stay composed in front of this boy I barely knew, but I couldn't and I started to sob. "I screwed it all up!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Scout, I know you don't believe that." Owen pulled his car to the side of the road so he could turn towards me. " I don't know you very well, but you seem to be a close knit family. I'm guessing having you gone from their lives wouldn't have made them happy at all." Owen paused for a response, but I didn't give him one. Taking a chance he moved over to my side and slowly put his hand on my shoulder. "Come here. My family has been in the funeral business a long time and my father always says talking and crying is all a part of grieving."

I heard the young man's words and I knew he was right. I leaned into his chest and smelled his expensive cologne. The scent reminded me of the Soc who held my arms behind my back while his friend punched me in the face. The memory of getting jumped reminded me of the Socs trying to drown Ponyboy in the fountain. Holding Ponyboy in the freezing water led to Bob's death. Bob's death led to the Socs and Greasers planning the rumble last Saturday night. The rumble! I pulled away from the Soc and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. I stared the boy down. "Where were you Saturday night?"

Owen furrowed his brow. "At the movies with my friends…why?" Before I could answer, he figured out why I was asking. "No, no, Scout. I wasn't at the rumble on your side of town. I don't have to fight." He smiled hoping to lighten up the conversation. "I don't have to, I play football."

I thought back to Ponyboy asking the gang why they liked fights and how Ponyboy hated the thought of missing the rumble. Heck, I was even in a fight before. It was a fight for honor just like the rumble. As I stared into his blue eyes, I wondered if Owen thought of himself as even better then usual Socs. Maybe he considered himself a "Super Soc" as Two-Bit would put it. Wanting to know the answer I asked defensively. "You got something against boys who fight?"

"What?" Owen shook his head. "Listen Scout, you're taking this all wrong. I didn't go to that rumble because I didn't see the point in it. Those guys who showed up to fight for the Socs just aint got nothing better to do, and that's sad. And before you start in on me I don't blame the greasers for being there. You all got it tough and it isn't fair that a few dozen kids with rich daddies keep coming by your neighborhood and rubbing your noses in it."

I stared at Owen; amazed he understood the two worlds so well. Suddenly, I felt ashamed for thinking he was a Soc who wanted nothing more than to teach the greasers a lesson about social hierarchy. "Maybe I oughtta go home now." I said, disappointed in myself.

"Fine, if you really want to go home I'll take you there, but I really just want to go to Rusty's with you and put all of this behind us." Owen grabbed my chin with his fingers and turned my head so I had to look at him. "Scout, all I want is to get to know you better. From the first time I saw you in class I've been asking everyone I know about you. I know my timing kind of stinks, but I don't want to wait any longer. Dig it?"

"Okay," I said softly. "Let's go to Rusty's."

"Good choice!" Owen's wide grin filled his face and he drove on to the diner.

When we arrived at Rusty's diner, I couldn't help but remember the day of mom and dad's funeral and how Darry had met up with all of his old high school friends. I consciously made sure Owen and I didn't sit in the same booth as Darry and I had, and when Owen put a nickel in the jukebox I was careful not to play the same song.

When we sat down the lunch hour was over and school hadn't let out for the day. It was nice being in the diner with out a large crowd of kids around. I ordered a Coke, Owen had the same with a cheeseburger and fries on the side. He ate just like my brothers, a lot in a little amount of time.

We sat across from each other and the line between Soc and Greaser faded away. For more than an hour we talked about my life and his. I told him about how my family loved dancing in the living room and day trips to the country. He asked about when I was jumped and if I ever talked to Casey anymore. He told me about the history of his Great Grandpa opening up the first funeral home in town over one hundred years ago and how he was expected to take over the family business someday. I asked if he really wanted to and Owen said he would, once his football career fizzled out.

"You ought to come to our game this weekend and watch me play." Owen beamed with pride.

"I might, if Ponyboy is better." I said as I finished my third Coke. "I'm sure one of my brothers will come with me. All three of them enjoy a good game of football."

"I'd like that," Owen said and the ringing of the metal bell that hung over the door drew our attention away from each other. In walked the first two carloads of Socs, and I immediately felt myself feeling self-conscious in my hand-me-down clothes.

"Jasper!" A stocky, dark haired boy in a letterman's jacket called out and led the group of kids through the diner to our booth. I pressed up against the window wall in an effort to look small, if not invisible. I read the loud boy's embroidered name on his coat, David. "Man! I heard you skipped school today to go work a burial for those hoods from the north side of town. I bet that was one greasy crowd."

Owen looked to me. I could tell he was disappointed in his friend's words and Owen could tell I wished I was greasy enough to slide under the table and disappear, but he wouldn't let me. "David, do you realize if it wasn't for those two boys I may have had to leave school to work the funerals of a dozen six-year-olds?"

"Hey man, don't get all defensive!" David said in a cocky voice. "I'm just saying the town's probably a lot nicer without those two hoods around."

The comments made me upset and I struggled to hold my anger inside. Fortunately, I didn't have to be the one to make a scene because Owen snapped at the boy. "Why don't you find somewhere else to sit?"

My jaw dropped open as David shook his head and walked away with a few of his friends. A handful of Socs stayed behind, wanting to join Owen and I in the booth. As soon as there was room to squeeze in, two pretty blondes slid onto the bench with Owen to fight for his affection. My side of the booth filed up with a guy and a gal. The tall red-headed-boy, I recognized from the DX station, pulled up a chair at the end of the table. I read the name on his jacket, Peter.

"Why is it Dave's always walking around with his foot in his mouth?" Peter asked to Owen.

Owen looked over to David who was at the counter ordering. "Cause he's dumb!" Everyone at the table laughed, except me. Watching the new kids, I could tell they adored Owen. I couldn't blame them. He was adorable with his suit coat off, his black necktie hanging loosely around his neck and his white shirtsleeves casually rolled up.

The girl next to Owen had long blond hair pulled back in a barrette. Her green eyes glistened as she wrapped her fingers around Owen's biceps and baby-talked to him. "Really though, Owen, why would you go to that burial?"

My date glared back at the girl hanging on his arm and changed the subject. "Charlotte, I want you to meet someone." Owen looked across the table at me and pointed, one by one, to everyone in the booth. "Scout, this is Charlotte, Bethany, Peter, Mary, and Matt. Everyone, this is Scout Curtis." The group was quiet for a moment. Silence wasn't rare after people heard my name, but this was a different type of silence. Everyone recognized me from the newspapers and knew what side of town I came from.

Charlotte whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. "O, she's a greaser."

I was humiliated. I looked away from Owen's friends at the table, and wanted to run, but the kids on the bench next to me blocked my escape. I couldn't hop over the back of the bench because David and his friends had piled into the booth behind us to listen in to the conversation.

Owen didn't look my way, but he chided the girl loud enough for everyone to hear, "Charlotte, you're not too smart yourself! Maybe you ought to just keep your mouth shut from now on?"

Charlotte and Bethany's mouths dropped open in disgust. Then Charlotte pushed Bethany out of the booth and to her feet. The blond beauty threw her long hair over her shoulder. "Peter! I need a ride home."

Coolly, Peter reached into his pocket then flipped a coin into the air. "There's a dime, call yourself a cab." Both girls turned away in a huff as the dime landed on the floor and rolled away.

Owen looked across the table at me, noticed my flush face and tried to get my attention. "Scout? Scout, don't worry about those two. They're just…" He didn't know what to say.

David leaned over into my booth and arrogantly spoke into my ear just like Dally would have done to harass a girl. "You're the sister of that kid, Ponyboy, who killed Bob Sheldon. Aren't ya?"

Angered, I kept my vision out the window and drawled back. "Pony didn't kill that boy! That boy and his friends were killing my brother and Johnny didn't have any other choice… it was self defense!" Rage built up inside of me and I knew in seconds I would be bawling. To avoid further shame I had no choice but to get far away from the situation. My only exit was over the table, so I took it, just like any good greaser chick would.

I stood up on the bench, walked across the table, and as soon as my feet hit the floor I ran out the front door. Avoiding any public area, I headed straight for the alley behind the diner. I ran as fast as I could in my tight shoes, but with the pounding of my footsteps and sobs I didn't hear the boy gaining on me in speed. He ran up next to me and in one swift motion he wrapped his strong arms around my waist and hoisted me off the ground to stop my forward motion. I let out a scream in fright.

"Where do you think you are going?" Owen asked, slightly out of breath.

He set my feet back on the ground, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I tried to hide the tears streaming down my face as I sobbed. "Back to my side of town. I don't belong here!"

"That's just baloney Scout!" You can go wherever you want, whenever you want. Nobody owns this side of town!" Owen kept his arms wrapped tightly around my waist so I couldn't run off again. His voice was soft and sincere. "Listen, I'm sorry for what they said, just let me take you home. I don't want you to walk all the way home, that just wouldn't be right."

Before I could respond a young man's voice called from behind us. "O, is everything cool?"

I kept my gaze in the opposite direction of the approaching boy and Owen turned toward Peter. "Yeah, everything is going to be fine."

Peter stepped closer to us. "I don't mean to interrupt, but the gal at the diner was screaming that she was gonna call the cops since you ran out without paying the check. I would have covered for you, but I don't have any money with me."

Owen threw his head back in disbelief. Now he had another problem to deal with. My date sighed and lowered his head so his long blond bangs shadowed his eyes. "I'll go back and take care of it." Owen loosened his grip on my waist. "Pete, will you wait here with Scout?"

"Yeah, sure." Pete said kindly.

Owen turned back to me. "Don't run off, savvy? I'll pay the bill, get my car and drive you home." I shook my head 'yes' and tried to inhale my sorrows. Owen jogged down the alley back to the diner.

I had preferred Peter went with him, but like a good friend Pete stayed close to watch me. Trying to avoid any more confrontation I crossed the alley to sit on a step outside the receiving door of a building. My chaperone crossed the alley to stand near me. He kicked a few rocks and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. He spoke in a friendly voice trying to lighten the mood. "So… you're the infamous Scout Curtis. Boy, I tell ya, Owen hasn't shut up about you since the first day of European History class. He's always hated history till this year." I wiped my eyes and looked up at Peter. He was over six feet tall with hazel eyes and light freckles to match his red hair. He smiled back at me. "Ever since the day he gave you a ride home from the cemetery he's been wanting to ask you out on a date, but of course it just wasn't the right time."

"Oh yeah?" I said hoarsely and tried to make a joke. "Guess he was waiting for a worse time." I mustered a smile.

Peter laughed softly. "Yeah…well actually after reading the article about you saving those kids he was worried you might have to go off and live in a girl's home like the paper said. So I guess he figured he didn't have a whole lot of time left." Peter shrugged his shoulders. "The one drawback to growing up in the funeral business is that you are constantly reminded of how short life can really be."

Peter's comment recreated an uneasy feeling again as we remembered the short lives of Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston, but in different ways. Both of us were relieved when the silence was broken as Owen pulled the car down the alley. Peter escorted me around to the passenger's side of the car and, like a gentleman, opened the door for me. "It was nice to meet you, Scout," Peter smiled gently.

I climbed into the car and turned back to Owen's friend. "Nice to meet you too, thanks." I returned the smile; Pete shut the door and the car pulled away.

Owen looked over to me. "Scout, I am so sorry about all of this. Sometimes…"

"Thanks for taking me out," I interrupted to take the pressure off of him. "All in all, it was good to get away from everything for awhile."

Owen was relieved he didn't have to continue to make excuses for the other kids. We didn't talk much on the ride home. I think we were both trying to figure out what we were doing with each other. The match up seemed out of place and would surely have more conflicting moments, in social circles, if it were to continue. Owen finally spoke when he pulled up in front of my rundown house. "I hate to ask this, but…" Owen grinned and his blue eyes sparkled again, "will I see you in school tomorrow?"

Under the circumstances from the past week, I had to giggle. "You can count on it." I said and climbed out of the car. Owen watched me walk through the fence and didn't pull the car away until I was safely inside the house.

Closing the front door behind me, I noticed the silence. I walked into the dining room and considered calling out for Sodapop, but a note on the table stopped me.

_Ponyboy is feeling better, we all laid down for a nap. I will make dinner when I get up. Darry_

I slipped off my shoes and tiptoed down the hall to peek into Soda and Pony's room. The two of them were sound asleep. Wondering if Darry was actually sleeping, I walked back to his room. I quietly turned the doorknob and opened the door a crack. My brother was still dressed in his clothes and sleeping on top of the covers. Silently, I pulled the door closed and walked to my room. I slipped off my sweater and climbed into bed. I fluffed my pillow under my head and fell fast asleep, dreaming of how lovely Owen Jasper had been.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

In the morning the sun shone brightly through my window blinds. I opened my eyes and looked toward the ceiling. I was disoriented, I knew I was in my room, and in my clothes, but it shouldn't be this bright at dinnertime in the late autumn months. Realizing it was morning I rolled over to check the time on my alarm clock. Eleven in the morning! I quickly threw my feet over the edge of the bed and thought about hurrying to school in the clothes I had slept in. Then my eye caught the note in Darry's handwriting by my bedside lamp.

_Stay home and look after Ponyboy. See you after work. _

_Darry & Sodapop._

I threw myself backwards onto my bed and wondered what Owen would think when I wasn't in class, yet again. I balled the paper note up in my hand then walked across the hall to check on Ponyboy. I flopped down in the armchair and watched him take small shallow breaths. On the floor I notice a bowl of uneaten mushroom soup with a small plate of crackers. Knowing Darry would be mad to find the food lying there, I took it into the kitchen and put the dishes on the kitchen counter. The house was still very quiet and I found myself spooked by my own morbid thoughts, so I hurried back to Ponyboy's room.

I flopped down in the armchair a second time and nearly jumped out of my skin to find Pony wide eyed and staring at me. "Dang it Pony!" I took a breath to slow my heartbeat. "Don't stare at me like that. You'bout made me have a heart attack."

Ponyboy softly laughed. "All I did was look at you. I should be the scared one."

I climbed over him and slid under the covers. "Great, here you go with the ugly jokes again." The two of us laughed then lay on our backs and laughed. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah, but I sure could use a weed. Darry told me you had a hard wee too, you feeling better?"

"I'm fine." I shrugged my shoulders. "I aint getting you anything to smoke though. You ought to quit that bad habit anyway."

"Yeah, I'll think about it." Pony said and rolled onto his side to face me. "What day is it?"

"Wednesday, I hope." I looked into my brother's eyes and feelings of elation swept through my body. I was relieved he was home and alive. We looked at each other awhile like we often did, lost in thought. "Pony, we've sure missed a lot of school."

"Tell me about it." Ponyboy exasperated.

"I think I'm gonna call the school and see if a secretary could round up our homework. Then I'll walk over and get it and ride home with Steve."

Pony's round eyes grew concerned. "Why you gonna walk? You should take the bus."

I shook my head no. "The bus goes way out of the way and takes forever. If I walk I can get there in half the time. Besides, all the Socs'll be in school, so I'll be fine."

"Suit yourself." Ponyboy's gruff voice sounded unconcerned, but I knew he really meant that he thought my idea was a bad one.

"How about I make us some grilled cheese sandwiches?" I waited for my brother's approval them went in to cook up some brunch. The two of us ate our sandwiches and stayed in Pony's bed. I did most of the talking about what home was like without him. He didn't say a word about the attempted drowning, stabbing or being on the lam with Johnny, and I didn't push. Instead he told me everything he and Darry had talked about the day before. How Darry and Sodapop almost worried themselves to death. How Darry told him I lost my mind and Mr. Ottavi appeared out of nowhere to help the family out, and how worried the two of us were that our days at home were numbered. By the time I had to leave to walk to school we were both convinced in a matter of days or weeks we would surely be sent to new homes. That scared us something awful.

I arrived at my high school with only fifteen minutes left in the school day. I entered through the back doors by the shop classrooms. I needed to find Steve. Thankfully, he was in the first classroom I looked into. Softly, I whistled long and low, ending in a sudden high note. It was the gang's whistle they often used and Steve recognized it immediately. My brother's friend turned his head to look out the classroom door and his eyes grew wide when he noticed me. I mouthed the words, wait for me after school. Steve furrowed his brow and curled his lip up on one end. I could tell he was trying to decipher my words. Seconds later, Steve figured out the message and shook his head in agreement. I headed off to the principal's office to collect the two lists of homework.

The secretary in the main office was really nice as she handed over the lists the teachers had made for Ponyboy and I. "Now you realize you aren't going to be able to make up everything." She slightly scolded me. "You two have missed plenty of tests, and there's no making those up now."

"Yes mam'" I said and walked out of the office before my willingness to catch up in school faded away. I walked through the quiet halls and could hear the occasional mutter from teachers and students talking in the classrooms. Oddly, I didn't miss school as much I thought I would. I guess my mind was just preoccupied with too many more important things. I gathered Ponyboy's books from his locker in my arms. Then I climbed the stairs to the floor my locker was on and opened the metal door. Inside, sat my knapsack full of the books I was going to need. Clear memories flooded my mind as I recalled leaving my bag in my locker and running off to be with my parents. The moment seemed as if it was months ago, but in reality it hadn't even been a week.

The sound of the school bell cued me to get Ponyboy's books into the bag so I could meet Steve in the parking lot. I stuffed the bag, buckled the flap closed and shut my locker. By the time I had turned around to leave the halls were full of students, mostly Socs. Trying to remain unseen I heaved the heavy bag over my shoulder, lowered my head and began to walk down the hall. I had only taken a dozen steps when I failed to look up. _Wham_! I ran right into a solid young man. The collision knocked me backwards onto my butt and my knapsack skidded across the floor a few feet away from me. Embarrassed I tried to reach for my bag and run away.

"Scout!"

The voice was familiar and I turned my head to find Owen reaching down to grab my arm. Gently he pulled me up from the floor. My face grew flush from embarrassment and maybe a little bit of it was from the affection I was beginning to feel about the boy. "Owen, I am so sorry, I didn't see you there." Once I was on my feet I turned to see Peter had picked up my knapsack and was standing behind me.

"I kind of figured that out when you ran right into me." Owen said with a laugh. "Have you been here all day? You weren't in class."

I reached up and tucked my hair behind my ears hoping it wasn't looking a mess. "I had to stay home and look after Ponyboy. I just got here so I could pick up our homework."

"Oh good, I was starting to think you were avoiding me." Owen moved his hand from my arm to my hand, which he held tightly. "Do you need a ride home?"

"My friend Steve is going to take me." I said like a fool, wishing I hadn't said that. I would have preferred to ride with Owen. I looked at the boy's letterman jacket, filled with athletic awards. "Besides, don't you have football practice?"

"Yes, but if you needed a ride home I would have given you one." I smiled at the generous gesture. I knew how important it was for players to be at football practice. Darry never missed one. Owen grabbed my knapsack from Pete's hand and thanked him for picking it up. I heard him tell his friends to head to the locker room and he would meet them there. My eyes then met with his, and he smiled, nearly making me weak in the knees. "Come on, I'll carry your bag and walk you to your friend's car." Hand in hand, the two of us headed down the steps and out to the back parking lot where Steve parked with all the other hoods and greasers.

"Sorry I wasn't in class today. My brothers didn't even wake me up." I said and wished I wasn't walking by his side in jeans and an old sweater. "I'm not sure if I'll be here tomorrow either. I kind of have to stay home and look after Ponyboy till he gets better."

"That's okay, at least I know you're not avoiding me." Owen laughed. "You didn't miss much in class. Just babble about the First World War." Owen walked confidently through the growing sea of kids from the north side of town. "I hope you plan on coming to my football game this weekend."

"I haven't asked anyone yet, but I think I can come." I looked ahead at Steve, Two-Bit and Evie who were waiting by the car, watching the two of us. We stopped a few feet away from Steve's car and looked at each other. I smiled and waited for him to hand over my knapsack. Owen stayed staring at me as the wind tossed the blond hairs from in front of his eyes. My heart beat wildly as I began to wonder if he was going to kiss me in front of everyone. Slowly, his smile widened and he lifted his eyes and noticed a sea of hoods staring him down.

"I guess I'd better get to practice." He said gently and handed me my bag. "I'll be seeing you."

"Not if I see you first." We turned and went our separate ways.

Right away my eyes caught Two-Bit's eyes that stared at me long and hard, but I had no idea why. I walked around him to get into the car and he watched me. Steve and Evie climb into the front seat, while Two-Bit climbed into the back with me.

"Sissy, what are you doing here anyways?" Steve asked and started the engine.

"I came by to pick up some homework for Pony and me. Thanks for the ride home."

"No problem." Steve said casually.

I looked at Two-Bit's glare. "What's bothering you Two-Bit?"

Two-Bit started in with me. "I knew it wouldn't be long before you turned a blind eye to where you really came from." His tone was condescending. "Guess you're too good for the likes of us now."

"What are you talking about?" I said, baffled by the comment.

"You … becoming a Soc."

"I'm not becoming anything Two-Bit!" I snapped back. "Just because I want to get good grades and make something of myself, so I don't have to spend the rest of my life in a cruddy neighborhood, doesn't make me a Soc!"

"Sure it does." Two-Bit drawled. "You think just cause you have the means and the brains you're better then the rest of us. Aint that right Steve?" Our friend stayed out of the conversation and didn't answer, but I saw Evie give her boyfriend a questioning stare.

Enraged, I yelled back. "What in the hell are you talking about? All I did was come to school to pick up my homework. You know, it's that stuff your teachers ask you to do at home to prove you're learning something!"

"See what I mean! You think you're better because you've got the smarts to be better. Forget the rest of us who just can't do what you can."

I was truly thrown by Two-Bit's sudden animosity. I looked up to Steve to see if he understood what was going on, then I looked back to Two-Bit. "Hey! Don't patronize me because I care about my future! Just cause you plan on wandering the neighborhood till you're fifty looking for handouts and free beers doesn't mean that's what all of us want out of life. If you cared one bit you could graduate and head to 'Socville' with me, but no! You just want to be lazy and hurtful!"

I was a moment away from crying when I noticed a tear form at the corner of Two-Bit's eye and then run down his cheek. I held my tongue and watched another roll down before he reached up to wipe it away. "I aint got a chance in hell. I'm too stupid! I aint even clever like Sodapop in that I can fix cars or something like that."

I was taken back by the entire conversation and mostly by Two-Bit's rare vulnerability. I blinked my eyes to determine if what I was seeing was real. I looked to Evie who was trying not to stare and then I looked back to the man. "Two-Bit, it's not to late for you to start trying. It's not that hard, I could help you."

Embarrassed, Two-Bit looked away and dried his eyes. "Nah, just forget I said anything. It's no big deal, I don't know what I'm talking about."

I leaned forward trying to look into his eyes. "I think you do. I think you should at least try. I'll help you as much as I can. You can do your homework at our house after school."

"Just forget it alright?" Two-Bit's tough façade had taken hold. "Just forget I said anything. I aint got no interest in ruining my rep anyway."

I stared at him and wondered why he had started the conversation in the first place. I eventually drew my own assumption that he was just like the rest of us. Grieving the deaths of his friends in a way he couldn't explain. I turned and looked out the window as the scenery passed by till Steve pulled up outside my house and I crawled out of the car. "Thanks again for the ride."

I pushed the heavy metal door shut and walked up the sidewalk toward the metal fence gate where I noticed a Sheriff's car pull up and park across the street. In seconds I realized the officer climbing out of the car was coming toward my house. My stomach turned queasy.

I guess the boys had figured something was wrong cause Steve's car stopped a half a block away and Two-Bit came jogging back in my direction. Steve sped off in a hurry. Two-Bit reached my side and looked at me nervously. I didn't move from my stance. He sensed the tension and tried to help. "Everything okay Scout?"

Fear that the policeman had arrived to take Ponyboy and I away caused me to panic inside and I didn't answer.

The officer silently walked towards us, eyed to Two-Bit then turned towards me. "Do you live here? Are you Scout Marie Curtis?"

My mouth dropped open and I considered not answering. My brain searched through the many possibilities of how this man knew my name. Was he here to separate my family because of the trouble Ponyboy and I had gotten into? My throat tightened and I quietly asked. "Are you here to take my brothers and me away for good?"

Two-Bit didn't wait for an answer as he barked. "No Sir! You aint taking them away. None of us will let you do that!"

The police officer looked to Two-Bit. "First of all, you have no right to threaten me in that manner. Secondly, if you are not a member of this family you are not entitled to hear any part of this conversation."

"I am family!" Two-Bit demanded. "I've known Sodapop and Darry nearly my whole life and I'm not gonna let them down by letting you leave here with the two most important people in their lives!"

Before anyone could respond our attention was drawn to the revving engine and sound of tires squealing around the corner. All three of us turned to see Steve's car pull up and Sodapop jump out of the car, dressed in his work clothes. He ran to us and positioned his body in front of me as a shield against the Sheriff's deputy. Short of breath, Sodapop asked. "Can I help you officer?"

"All I am here to do is serve a subpoena to a Scout Curtis." The officer turned a glance to me. "Are you Scout Curtis?"

"Yes Sir," I breathed a sigh of relief, he handed the paperwork to me, and walked back to his car.

"Subpoena?" Soda asked. "What's that?

I turned to my brother. "It means I have to go to court to testify for something."

"Testify for what?" Sodapop asked as he and Two-Bit attempted to read over my shoulder.

I opened the paperwork and ready the court date and case listing. "Against Duke Dobbins." I looked to my brother with concern in my eyes. I had no desire to ever see Duke Dobbins again.

"Don't you worry none Sissy. You'll help put him away and you'll never have to worry about him again." Soda threw his arm around me, and all three of us walked into the house.

Later that afternoon when Darry came home from work Sodapop told him how Steve had nearly ran his car into the DX station because he was in such a hurry to tell Sodapop that the sheriff's deputy had shone up at the house. Not being present for the whole situation really bothered Darry, but we begged him not to worry. My brother's then decided that I would need to skip school the rest of the week to look after Ponyboy.

Just before bed that evening I wandered into the Darry's bedroom and sat down on his bed while Darry worked at his desk paying the bills. He looked over at me, "What's up Sissy?"

I smiled pulled one knee up to wrap my arms around. "I was wondering if you had Saturday evening off of work."

Darry reached over and looked at the calendar lying on his desk. "Yeah, why?"

"I was thinking maybe you and I could go to the high school varsity football game together."

Darry sighed and I could tell he didn't seem interested in going with me. "Why don't you ask Soda to go with you?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Cause Soda isn't going to actually watch the game with me. He'll end up wandering around and chatting with everyone." I stood up. "It's okay though if you don't want to go, I just thought I'd ask."

"Wait!" Darry sighed again. "I didn't say I wouldn't go. It's just that someone needs to stay here with Ponyboy." Darry rubbed his forehead with his strong hand and I knew he was still very worried about our brother. "Go find out if Soda has plans Saturday night. If he doesn't ask him if he'll stay here with Ponyboy."

I happily skipped into the living room where Sodapop was watching television. I jumped onto the couch next to him, but he didn't take his eyes off the show, Dragnet. "Hey Soda, you got any plans Saturday night?"

"No," Soda turned his head to look at me. "Why?"

"Cause I want Darry to go with me to the varsity football game, but he won't go unless you will be home to look after Ponyboy. So will ya?"

"Wait a second," Now I had my brother's full attention and he turned all the way around to face me. "Why can't I go with you and Darry stay here?"

"Because I want to go there with Darry!"

Sodapop paused just long enough for me to realize he had made the connection between my wanting to go to the football game and Owen Jasper. "Oh I get it!" He teased. "You want to go to see your new boyfriend!"

My face grew surprised that he would suggest such a thing. "Soda! He aint my boyfriend, but if you must know," I pulled a wide smile across my face. "I am going because of him."

Soda's smile matched my own and he turned back to his television show. "Okay I'll stay here with Ponyboy so you can go see your new boyfriend play football."

I laughed and lightly slapped my brother's arm. "I already told you, he isn't my boyfriend!"

I stood up and walked back to Darry's room and heard Soda's final comment. "Yeah, well … he will be."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 

I cooked dinner on Saturday to assure that I would have plenty of time to get ready to leave on time for the start of the Varsity Football Game. I was doubly excited!. I had looked forward to seeing Owen play and watching a game with Darry, which was something we had never done together. I pulled on my green cardigan sweater and squished my feet into my loafers. After one last look in the mirror, I stepped out in the hallway and yelled, "Darry! Are you ready?" He didn't answer, which frustrated me as I stopped into Ponyboy's bedroom, "Have a good night Pony!"

Ponyboy looked up from his book. "Yeah," he said with an annoyed sarcastic tone. I'm sure to have a blast."

There wasn't much I could say to make his weeklong stay in bed better, so I simply reminded him to get his rest.

I walked out into the living room to find Darry on the telephone. I made eye contact with him and mouthed the words, 'let's go!' Darry raised a finger to let me know he would need another minute. I flopped down on the couch and noticed I hadn't seen Sodapop anywhere in the house. Knowing I had time, I and went to check the bathroom, no Soda. I checked Darry's bedroom, no Soda. I ran back down the hall and checked my room and Ponyboy's bedroom, no Soda! _Oh great!_ I thought to myself and walked out the backdoor to check the yard.

Off to my right I heard the sound of metal clinking with metal and found Sodapop with his head in the rusty engine of an old car in the yard. I ran over to him, "Soda! What are you doing? Darry and I are about ready to leave and you gotta watch Pony!"

Sodapop grinned my way. "I wouldn't be in too big of a hurry. Darry's inside talking to Kathryn and I gotta pull this part off cause I'm selling it to Sheppard's friend, Skibby."

I threw my hands in the air, looked at the living room window and then back to Soda. "You have got to be kidding. Please tell me you are kidding."

My brother laughed at me. "Just relax Scout. You aint gonna be able to talk to Jasper till after the game anyways. Besides you all can leave while I'm out here. It aint like Pony's gonna get any better any faster if I'm inside or out."

Before I could respond Darry whistled for me from the front porch. "Let's go Scout!"

"See you later So!" Excited, I turned and ran through the front gate.

Darry pulled the truck door open for me and walked around to the driver's side door. I jumped in and shut the door as he shut his. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited Kathryn to the game too. We gotta go pick her up."

I reached over and grabbed Darry's watch. "Won't we be late for the game?"

Darry looked my way and grinned in a sly, suspicious way. "No, we should have plenty of time to get there so you can see Owen make a few good plays."

I smiled at the mention of the boy's name, returned the sly look to my brother and spoke slowly. "What did Sodapop tell you?"

Darry laughed as he pulled away from the curb, "Nothing." Darry lied.

"He's not my boyfriend." I said to clarify any embellishments Sodapop may have put into Darry's mind.

"I never said he was," Darry smiled and shook his head. We pulled up outside Kathryn's house and she walked out their stately front door with her father. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed because the last time I saw the older man I was in the back of a police car. Like a gentleman, Darry stepped out of the truck to shake Mr. Ottavi's hand. All three of the adults stood together on the sidewalk for a moment and I over heard Mr. Ottavi's suggestion. "Why don't the three of you take my car for the evening." The older man handed the keys to Darry and insisted. Darry graciously accepted and called me out of the truck.

Shamefully, I slid across the vinyl seat and climbed out of the truck. I tried to avoid eye contact in a vain attempt to be invisible, but once I shut the truck door Kathryn grabbed me in her arms. "Scout, how are you doing?"

I kept my vision to the ground and spoke quietly as Kathryn released me. "I'm good."

"I sure hope you're good," Mr. Ottavi said and he stepped forward and put his arm over my shoulder. "By the way Officer Cannon says you've got a great right hook! You probably learned that from living with three brothers, didn't you?"

I didn't know whether to laugh or not then I looked to Darry who was smiling so I answered. "Yeah, it sure can come in handy when you want the bathroom first."

Everyone laughed and Kathryn folded her arms across her chest in a motherly sort of way. "Are you ready to go? I hear you've got a boyfriend on the football team?"

I threw my hands out in comical disbelief. "He is not my boyfriend!" Everyone laughed again and we headed back to the Ottavi's garage. Mr. Ottavi had a black Chrysler sedan with shinny wheels and leather seats. I enjoyed riding to the game in style. Kathryn and Darry enjoyed riding together, alone, in the front seat.

The three of us moved through the crowd and up the wooden stairs of the stands. My brother preferred we sat up high enough that he could see the team's plays develop on the field. Darry hadn't been to a high school football game since dad died. The two of them went to every game the year after Darry graduated. I had once heard dad telling mom one night how much Darry missed the game and how sad my father was that he couldn't do more to help his son get into college. Knowing this, I was wanted to sit anywhere my brother wanted to sit.

We found aisle seats half way up the steps and sat down. Kathryn sat on the aisle and Darry sat next to her. He zipped up his jacket and leaned toward me. "So what number is Owen?"

I shrugged my shoulders and looked into my brother's eyes. "I don't know."

"Do you know what position he plays?" Darry asked even though he knew the answer.

"I don't know."

Darry laughed, "So why are we here?"

I cocked an eyebrow and cracked a smile. "I don't know."

Darry playfully elbowed me and told me what he knew. "Jasper's a running back, number 27. He didn't play much when I was on the team, but last year he was really impressive. This year they talk about him in the sports page nearly every week. He is definitely the team's MVP."

I settled into the old wooden bench and watched the game. Being there with Darry was fun because he could call the plays and took the time to teach me some things about the game I didn't know. Often times he would refer to a play that I hadn't seen because my mind had drifted off to think about how great it would be to be the girlfriend of Owen Jasper, one of the most sought after boys in school.

The first half of the game ended with a score of 28 to 7, and Darry was right, Owen was amazing the way he could run the football. Darry stood up and looked down at Kathryn and I. "I'll go and get some popcorn and cokes." Darry headed down the steps leaving Kathryn and I to watch the marching band take the field. I looked to Kathryn a few times before gathering up enough courage to ask her a question that I had been thinking about. "Kathryn, do you mind if I ask you something kind of personal?"

Kathryn looked over to me and the wind blew her beautiful hair from her face. "Sure, anything."

I was a little nervous to ask, but I wanted to know. "Why doesn't it bother you that Darry never has time to spend with you?"

Kathryn flashed one of those smiles that let me know she wasn't surprised to hear me ask. "It's not as if I don't know why he rarely has time for me. Besides, Darry and I are not exclusive. I have gone on dates with other boys." She let out a deep sigh. "It's just that each time I meet a new boy, I find myself still liking your brother more than any of the others, so I know I just have to use my patience."

"Boy, do you ever!" I rolled my eyes and remembered how much of a handful Ponyboy, Sodapop and I had been in less than a year.

"Yeah, well …I admire all that Darry has done to keep your family together. That's an important quality in a man, and it's something that makes your brother special." I shook my head in agreement and looked back to the field where the marching band was playing a song I didn't recognize. Kathryn wrapped her arm around me to show affection and the two of us sat quiet. It's not that we didn't have anything to talk about. We just didn't know what would be considered a sensitive subject and what wouldn't. Darry finally broke the silence when he returned with the snacks. We had a great time watching the end of the game and enjoying our school's twenty-one-point lead. As the crowd filed out of the stadium the three of us walked over to an area outside of the locker rooms to congratulate Owen.

While we stood in the cool night, teachers and coaches wandered up to Darry and Kathryn to say hi. Both were had been well known students, Darry from football and Kathryn was the Homecoming Queen. I stood alone against the chain link fence as Kathryn and Darry worked the crowd. The two of them made a great couple. I felt bad that I was one of the reasons they couldn't be together more often.

Slowly the players, dressed in their khaki pants and letterman jackets, walked out of the locker room in sets of twos and threes. I observed the boys filing out of the door then noticed Owen wander out with his friend Peter. I smiled and took a few steps toward him. Immediately, the crowd flooded around the running back to offer congratulations and ask for his autograph. I stopped and watched as Owen graciously met with everyone who ran up to him, even Charlotte, who was a Varsity Football cheerleader. She clung to his arm and smiled at everyone who passed as if she were showing off a trophy of some kind.

I sized up the girl and realized I couldn't compete with her beauty and popularity. Defeated, I looked around for Darry and Kathryn who had disappeared into the crowd. When I couldn't see where they had gone I backed up to lean against the fence to stay out of everyone's way. I looked over at Owen Jasper one more time and saw the wind whip his bangs from his face. He slowly lifted his ocean blue eyes from a paper he had autographed. My bright blue eyes met with his, and a wide smile graced his face. He slightly nodded his head in my direction.

A warm flush filled my body and I walked toward the boy. Owen shook Charlotte off his arm and moved through the crowd to greet me. He stepped close and wrapped me in his strong arms. "Scout! I am so glad you came!" Owen stepped back and I looked up to him with a smile.

"You played a good game."

Owen grinned with pride and grabbed my hand in his. "Yeah, it was one of my better games." He led us away from the crowd for a little more privacy.

I had to laugh, "according to Darry most of your games are better games." Owen didn't argue. I looked around at the crowd and remembered how everyone in my family used to meet with Darry after a game. "Are your parents here?"

"No, they don't come to my games."

I looked at him in surprise. "They don't come? Wow. My dad never missed one of Darry's games."

"Well…my parents aren't too supportive of me playing for a football scholarship." Owen ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to keep it out of his eyes. "They don't even want me to go to college?"

The suggestion was implausible to me and I had to ask. "Why?"

"All they want is for me to take over the family business, and I don't need college for that."

"There you two are!" Kathryn's sweet voice cut into our conversation.

I stepped forward. "Owen, this is my brother Darry and his date Kathryn Ottavi."

Owen shook hands with my brother. "Darry, it's good to see you again."

"You played a good game Owen, really good!" Darry added as he stood near us holding Kathryn's hand in his.

"Thanks." Owen grinned. "It was nice of all of you to come and watch."

A loud yell from behind us broke up our greeting. "Jasper! Hey, O, let's get going!"

I looked over my shoulder, to the football player who yelled, and didn't recognize him. I thought about how incredible it was that Owen had so many friends then a familiar face strolled towards us. "Hi Scout." Pete smiled then turned to his friend. "Everyone is ready to head over to Kirby's house. You ready?"

Owen looked to me, "you wanna come with?"

"No." Darry answered for me. Owen and I both looked at my brother and he elaborated. "Scout, I know I can trust you and all, but it's just not a good idea for you to go with them." I rolled my eyes and Darry reasoned, "it's past ten o'clock, you're just fourteen and after everything that has happened lately, I want you home."

I looked back at the boy and frowned. "Sorry, maybe next time?"

"Don't sweat it. I understand." Owen paused in front of me. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"

I could feel myself blush. "Okay, sure." Before I could babble any longer Owen dropped my hand and walked away to the large group of boys and girls who were anxiously waiting for him. I sighed and headed home with my brother.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four 

Ponyboy and I sat together at the kitchen table working on the piles of homework we were expected to complete. The house was quiet because Darry kicked Soda, Steve and Two-Bit out right after lunch. I think the three of them were tinkering with the cars in the side yard and Darry was watching television. Upon occasion, I would look over at Pony to see he was still on the same page of his science book from a few minutes ago, or staring out the window. For the twelfth time I tried to redirect his focus. "Pony, you gotta concentrate and get your work done."

My brother shook his head and moaned, "I know." Pony flipped the page he was staring at. The doctor had arrived early this morning and given Ponyboy a clean bill of health, so I wondered if my brother wanted to do something else with his day, other than homework.

"Maybe after dinner Darry'll take us for a ride if we get a lot of this work done."

"Yeah, maybe." Pony said absently and a knock at the front door drew his attention. My twin jumped from his chair and walked to the front door. I leaned back in my chair, peered through the kitchen doorway and noticed Darry grinning at me. Then I looked to Ponyboy who was looking my way over his shoulder. "Scout, it's for you."

I walked to the door to find out who was waiting outside on the porch. "Owen?" I gasped and worried about the appearance of my house and myself. "What are you doing here?"

"I hadn't done my European History assignment yet and thought maybe you'd want to study with me."

"Here?" I blurted out.

Owen looked at me wondering where else we would need to go to study. "Well… yeah, if it's okay with your brother."

"It's fine," Darry said and kept his eyes on the television.

Nervously, I remembered my manners. "Um… sure, come on in." I backed up into Ponyboy who was still standing by the door. "Pony! Hey … this is Owen Jasper. Owen this is my brother Ponyboy." The two boys said hello to one another while I stayed frozen staring at them. Honestly, I had no idea how to handle the situation. I had never been on a study date and had never had a social boy who liked me inside my house.

"Why don't you two work at in the dining room, so Pony can get his work done in the kitchen." Darry saved me from my dumbfounded response.

"Okay, the dining room is right over here." I gritted my teeth because of my uneasy babble. "Sorry about the house, my parents always intended on fixing it up better, but they never seemed to get the money or the time." I pulled out a chair for my guest.

Owen leaned close and whispered in my ear. "Don't worry about it. I don't really care what your house looks like. That's not why I'm here."

His soft breath sent goose bumps up my back and I breathed a little sigh of relief, "I'll get my books." I walked into the kitchen and gathered up my European History book, a pen and my composition pad. Before I turned around my eyes met with Pony's and he gave me a weird sort of look that I couldn't understand. I wasn't sure if he didn't like my behavior, or if he didn't like Owen. Either way, I only cared for a few seconds. I returned to my study date and had a great time reviewing the historical facts about World War One.

Over an hour later, Owen looked behind him at Darry, who had fallen asleep on the couch. He then glanced to the kitchen to find that Ponyboy had wandered away from the table. Once he knew we had some privacy the boy leaned toward me with a smile. "I really missed you last night." I felt a warm flush roll through my body as our blue eyes met. Owen cocked his head a little. "I couldn't trust I'd see you at school, so I wanted to be sure to see you before then."

I took in a breath to calm my jittery stomach. "I'm glad you came over. This has been nice."

Owen reached across the table and grabbed my hand. "I got football practice and work all week, but I was wondering, maybe Friday after dinner we could hang out or something. Do you think your brother will let you go out?"

I looked over at Darry then back to Owen. "I'm not sure. If he says it's okay I'll probably have to be home by ten, if that's all right."

"Sure!" Owen sensually rubbed the top of my hand with his thumb. "What do you want to do? We could see a movie, go to Rusty's or maybe just hang out here."

"Here?" I asked again wondering what was so great about my rundown house. "Why would you want to be here?" I realized my tone had been condescending and wished it hadn't been.

"I don't know?" Owen sat back in his chair and looked around. "It's comfortable here, you're comfortable here, my friends aren't bugging us here. How are those for good reasons?" Before I could answer, what was left of our gang walked in through the front door to make me feel uncomfortable.

"Scout, you didn't tell me you were expecting company." Steve started to taunt me. "Isn't that cute, you two studying together."

I avoided eye contact with Steve and looked over at my study date. "You want to go outside and get some fresh air?"

"Sure!" Owen and I walked past the gang and Two-Bit couldn't resist making kissing noises before we stepped out the front door. I could feel my ears burning with embarrassment as I turned at the steps to look in Owen's direction. I anxiously licked my lips hoping some topic of conversation would come to mind. I studied Owen and noticed him wipe his palms on his pants.

He observed my stare and let out a little exasperated laugh. "Sometimes my hands get sweaty when I'm nervous."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Nervous?"

"Yeah," Owen said and looked around. "Being around your brothers makes me kind of nervous."

"Don't worry about them. They can't hurt you too bad."

Owen laughed and looked down at the items strewn across the porch floor. He leaned down and grabbed the football out of a wooden Pepsi bottle crate. "Do you want to play a little catch?"

"Sure." I led the boy down the steps and into the side yard by the street. Like a good host I took the long walk towards the back porch. I was sure to walk far enough away to impress him with my football skill, but close enough to carry on a conversation. Owen gently tossed the ball to me. I easily caught it and threw back a fast spiral pass that hit him hard in the chest.

"Whoa! Nice throw!"

"Thanks, Darry taught me. Growing up I didn't have the option of not knowing how to throw and catch the ball." I caught the pass to me and threw the ball back. "We all used to play football every weekend, but we haven't played since the day I skipped the game to go to my friend Casey's house instead." My mind drifted to the past incident and future trial. "I guess I made the wrong choice that day," I said slowly.

"Or the right choice," Owen said with his ever-present optimism and walked closer to me. "Did Casey live in this neighborhood?"

I shook my head yes and turned to look at her old house as a cold chill climbed up my spine. I pointed across the street. "She lived right there, the brown house with the porch."

Owen looked at the house and sighed, "So on top of having to deal with that day you have to see the house everyday too? I don't know how you keep from going crazy"

I muttered too soft for the boy to hear, "I didn't."

"What did you say?"

I shrugged my shoulders and avoided the question. "Some days it's really tough, but mostly I don't look across the street. If I keep busy I can forget most of everything I've been through. That won't be as easy next week."

Owen stood by my side holding the football in his strong hand. "Next week? What happens next week?"

I shoved my hands into my pockets and stared at the dying grass beneath my feet. "I've been subpoenaed to appear in Court and testify against Duke Dobbins, Casey's dad." I anxiously smiled and looked up into Owen's blue eyes. "I guess I should tell you now that I won't be in school."

Owen smiled back. "Thanks for the advance notice. You shouldn't worry though. I bet you'll do fine and get him put behind bars for life."

I looked back across the street at Casey's old house and spoke slowly, "He can't get life in prison… nobody died." Owen didn't know what to say, so in place of words he wrapped his arm about me and rubbed my shoulder a little. "The court thing wouldn't be so bad if Casey was going to be there, but for now they don't think they are going to make her come back to testify. Right now, it all rests on my shoulders." I shivered a little. I wasn't sure if it was because of my fear or the chilly wind.

"Come on let's go back inside." Owen pulled me in the direction of the front porch and glanced at his watch. The time surprised him. "Oh, I gotta go. My parents have this Sunday dinner rule and I can't skip it."

"That's okay." I told him and we walked up the front porch steps. "Thanks for coming over. I had a good day."

"Me too," Owen put the ball back in the Pepsi crate. As we walked inside the house the aroma of baked chicken told me dinner would be ready soon. Owen walked across the living room to collect his books from the table then came back to the door. Intensely, he looked down into my eyes and my heart began to pound in my chest. The two of us could easily feel everyone's eyes watching us, waiting to witness a first kiss. "I'd like to say I'll see you at school tomorrow, but I kind of know better."

"Don't worry, I'll be there."

Owen grinned and turned to leave. On his way out the door he bid farewell to the rest of the gang and took one last look at me before he pulled the front door shut behind him.

I made sure the door was shut tight then turned to find the boys grinning at me.

"What no kiss?" Sodapop teased and Two-Bit and Steve laughed along with my brother.

"There better not be a kiss!" Darry demanded as he set the dinner dishes on the table.

"Come on Darry!" Sodapop yelled back. "You know there's gonna be kissing!"

I interrupted and sat down in my mom's armchair. "Can we please change the subject?"

"What's the matter with this subject?" Two-Bit called out after a sip of beer.

Darry answered, "Everything! I don't even want to think about Scout being with a boy. One thing is for sure, I am going see to it she makes it down the aisle in a white dress!" Darry laid the final plate as I looked at the gang in horror. I could tell from their uneasy faces they had never shared with Darry my little secret from one hot summer night. My oldest brother never looked our way as he disappeared into the kitchen and yelled. "Find something else to talk about!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five 

Monday morning, at school, I raced from the parking lot to get to my locker as soon as I could. I was hoping Owen Jasper would stop by and walk me to my first class, or at least greet me with his charming smile, but I didn't see him until European History class. As always, I sat in the front row. I watched the door and the clock waiting for the boy to enter. With only seconds before the bell rang I resigned myself to the fact that perhaps he wasn't at school, or worse perhaps I wasn't as special to him as I wanted to be. I looked down, opened my notebook, and wrote the date on the top of my paper.

"I'm not surprised to see you diligently preparing for class."

I looked over to my left to find the tall, blond headed beauty seated next to me. I smiled, "I thought maybe _you_ were the one not coming to school today."

Owen laughed, "As long as there's football practice after school, I'll be in school." The bell rang before I could say another word and the two of us sat together in the front row. For a shy girl like me, it was a little piece of heaven.

The rest of the week was the same. Owen wasn't able to stop by my locker in the morning because he had to lift weights. During school our paths only crossed during history class, and after school, football practice beckoned. and I rode home with my friends.

In the evenings, I worked on homework, past and present assignments, and Owen called every night just before bed. For privacy, I took my calls in the bathroom with the door shut. Unfortunately, Darry had decided to be very strict with how long he wanted me chatting on the phone with a boy. I was limited to twenty-minute conversations. On nights that Darry worked, Sodapop enforced the limits, but usually gave me an extra five or ten minutes. Soda was sure was different than Darry, he understood love and preferred to see it flourish.

Darry refused to allow me to go on a date with Owen Friday night for reasons he didn't feel compelled to share. So all Friday night after dinner I waited in my dad's armchair for the phone to ring. The minutes ticked into hours and I couldn't help but wonder why Owen hadn't called. At one point Sodapop looked over at me from the couch and suggested maybe Owen was still at work. I humored the idea because he worked nearly everyday for his father at the cemetery. By nine-twenty I figured Soda was right and headed off to bed through the dining room just as a knock came at the door. I turned around to see Sodapop jump up from the couch and pull the front door open. "Hey Owen," I heard my brother say then a faint voice asked if I could come to the door.

I turned on my heels and headed back to the living room wearing an old pair of sweats and a small white t-shirt. I smiled as Sodapop let the young man in. He was still dressed in his work clothes, an old t-shirt, work coat, jeans and boots. His trademark blond hair shaded his eyes that seemed dark against his weak smile. I tried to act casual, as if I hadn't just been ready to cry because he hadn't called. "Hi Owen, did you just get off of work?"

"What?" Owen asked at first then realized I had questioned him because of his clothing. "No, I've been done for awhile. I just… I saw the light on, so I thought I'd stop by." I looked over at my brother and the two of us shared a glance. We could both sense that Owen wasn't being entirely honest. The odd silence seemed to make Owen uneasy as he questioned my brother. "Is it okay if stay here to talk with Scout for the twenty minutes we usually talk for?"

"Yeah, sure," Sodapop said and realized he was the authority in the house since Darry was working, "…but you don't have to go in twenty minutes if you don't want to. It's not a school night, so I am sure Darry won't mind if you stay a little longer."

Owen showed a relieved smile to my brother, stayed still by the front door and looked to me. "Well, it's a nice night and my clothes are kind of dirty. Maybe we could talk out on the porch."

I agreed and grabbed Sodapop's coat from the coffee table. "Can I wear your coat So?" My brother had no problem with the loan, and I followed Owen outside. The two of us sat side by side on the front step.

Owen started conversation. "I wish we could have gone on a date or something tonight."

I crossed my arms in my lap and was glad Owen couldn't see me blush in the dim moonlight. "Yeah, well Darry isn't going to let me go on too many dates till everything else in our lives is cleared up." I looked into Owen's eyes. "But you're here now, so we can call this a date."

Owen's grin spread wide across his face because he liked the idea of calling his visit a date too. "So are you ready to go to Court on Monday."

I shrugged, a few afternoons this week I was required to meet with attorneys involved in the case against Mr. Dobbins. The meetings were mostly to prepare me for questioning and to verify that I was sticking to my story as I told it the day of the shootings. "I guess so. It's a lot of pressure though. The lead attorney reminded me today that I am the prime witness for the prosecution. For sure, Mary Lynn and Casey won't be called unless absolutely necessary."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know. Something about the Court not recommending Mary Lynn and Casey testify against Duke because they are family." I looked down at my shoes and sighed. "I was really looking forward to seeing Casey again. We haven't even written to each other since she moved."

Owen threw his arm around me. "That's too bad. Sometimes it's just hard to keep in touch."

"Tell me about it!" I joked, "I'd have to write a novel to explain everything that's happened in my life the past month."

Owen rubbed the side of my arm with his hand. "I think you'll do fine in Court. Besides it'll be good practice for you to see how the system works. Then when you're the judge you'll know how the other people in the courtroom are feeling."

"Yeah sure," I tried to joke again, "petrified!"

"Come on now," Owen tried to cheer me on. "I wouldn't let Duke scare you too much. There are policemen in the room, he'll probably be in handcuffs and your testimony is all they are going to need to lock him up for a good long time!"

I smiled to let Owen know I appreciated his support. I looked down the street at my tough neighborhood and knew he hadn't just been driving by. Very few Socs drive through our neighborhood without a purpose. "Owen? Why did you come over tonight?"

"I was out driving, so I thought I'd stop by." Owen looked across the street to avoid eye contact. "Are you going to my game tomorrow night? It's a playoffs game, might be my last one of the year."

"Well, if all you're looking to do is change the subject, yes I am coming to watch you play."

The boy frowned a little. "I'm not meaning to avoid the subject. I just wanted to get out of my house tonight, and see you." The words made me smile and Owen added. "See, I just wanted to see your smile."

I looked up to the stars. "I'll never understand why a rich boy like you would come across the tracks to woo a girl from this side of town, on her cruddy old front porch at that!"

"Whoa!" Owen said in jest. "Who ever said I was coming here to woo you? I never said that was why I was here."

I laughed. "Oh … you have a better reason to be sitting here with me?"

"Sure I do!" Owen smiled and spoke through his laughter. "I think your older brother is really cute. You know the tall one with all the muscles." I couldn't help but laugh with Owen at the absurdness of his comment. I gave him a shove and he pretended I nearly knocked him off the porch.

"Well if you came for Darry he won't be home for awhile. I guess you'll just have to settle for Soda or Ponyboy."

Owen sat back up, so close to me I could feel his breath on my cheek. My heart began to pound as the smile faded from the boy's face. "Why can't I just settle for you?" I held my breath and didn't respond. Owen leaned down, his blond bangs swept across my forehead and his warm lips gently kissed mine. Immediately, I kissed him back, long and soft. Inside my chest I swore my heart skipped a beat and every nerve in my body tingled with joy. The two of us slightly backed away from each other and Owen softly spoke. "Would you have preferred I had just called instead of stopping by?"

I gathered my breath and slowly spoke. "No, stopping by is just fine." We both smiled and leaned in towards each other for a second kiss. This one was just as soft and warm as the one before, but longer, and perchance a little more passionate as Owen wrapped his arm around me and held my body close to his.

When the second kiss ended, Owen reached up with his hand and caressed the side of my face. "See… that's why a rich boy like me came across the tracks to woo a girl from this side of town." We smiled together in relief that we both felt the same affection. "Do you think Darry'll let me take you out tomorrow night after the game?"

"It wouldn't hurt to ask."

"You do that, because I have to work at the cemetery again all morning and most of the afternoon, and I really don't want to not see you tomorrow."

"Well then, I guess I'll have to beg him instead." I said and flashed a devilish grin. "But if he insists on chaperoning our date you're gonna be kissing me and not him, right?"

Owen paused as if he was considering between the two of us. I playfully punched him in the arm. "Ouch! You didn't have to get all rough! I'd have picked you to kiss!" Owen rubbed his arm pretending it hurt. "You know, you don't look it, but you're a tough little girl."

"Yeah right…" I said, trying to look more demure then street tough. "That must be why my brothers all call me Sissy!"

"You're nickname is Sissy? How did you get that name?"

"A long time ago Darry started calling me that because I wouldn't join in to the rough games the boys played. Everyone in my neighborhood has called me Sissy since, even my parents did!"

"Your parents called you Sissy?" Owen's face showed a bit of concern.

"Yeah, but at first they thought it was short for, little sister. Once they found out the real reason the boys all called me that, the name had already stuck."

"That is so cute," he laughed. "I think it's pretty cool you have such a close family…"

Owen was interrupted as Darry pulled up to the curb in his truck. Quickly, I moved away from Owen so we weren't seen sitting so closely as Darry came through the front gate.

"Hi Owen." He said in a tired voice. "Time to call it a night, Sissy."

Owen and I giggled when he said my nickname. Then I looked up to my brother. "Okay Darry, I'll be right in."

Darry stopped in the doorway and turned back towards the two of us. "Say goodnight."

Owen and I both understood that Darry wasn't going into the house without me. My date stood up and bid goodnight and farewell to me and Darry. Then he happily wandered off to his car and rode away as Darry hustled me into the house. That night I laid awake in bed for an hour remembering my first true love kiss, and wondering if Owen was laying awake thinking about me too.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six 

Darry led the way as he and I walked down the stone corridor of the County Courthouse. I was dressed well, in newer clothes from a consignment store Kathryn had taken me to, and Darry made sure I had new loafers to go with my outfit. I tried not to show my anxiety and fear as the two of us entered the courtroom and took a seat in the back. I slouched on the wooden bench and tried not to look around. The size of the courtroom was much larger than the rooms in the family court, and the trial had attracted a fair amount of attention, so almost all of the benches were filled with busybodies and reporters.

The proceedings against Duke Dobbins had started on Monday, but it took over two days to select the jury. They spent another two days on opening statements and now, on Friday, the prosecution believed they were ready to call me for questioning.

Darry looked down at me and grabbed my hand in his. I peeked up at him and appreciated his tiny smile, meant to offer me comfort. I hated the fact that Darry would have to take days off of work to be here with me. The lawyers for the prosecution told him they could appoint a court advocate to look after me, but Darry insisted on being there. I loved him for that.

"The prosecution will call their first witness!" The judge bellowed in a gruff voice and I heard the lead attorney, Jeff Montgomery, call for me.

"The State of Oklahoma calls Scout Curtis to the stand."

I looked toward the front of the courtroom and froze. Darry leaned down, whispered some words of encouragement into my ear and had to give me a little push off the bench to stand up. All eyes in the courtroom were on me as I slowly walked up the aisle to the swinging gate that separated the attorneys from the crowd. Mr. Montgomery held the gate open for me and offered a kind smile. When I walked past him he spoke in a low soothing voice, "Don't worry Scout, just answer the questions and you will do fine."

I walked past the man and headed straight to the witness stand beside the Judge. I climbed the two wooden steps leading to the witness chair and before the bailiff could cross the room to swear me in my eyes caught the image of Duke Dobbins sitting in front of me. Everything about his presence seemed wrong; he was dressed in a suit and not jail garb, his hair was combed and his mustache trimmed, instead of his past disheveled appearance. Finally, his hands rested freely on the table, no handcuffs as Owen had suggested. For a moment, I froze in fear. All I wanted to do was turn and run. I began to wonder why I had ever agreed to be here, why I was willing to take the stand and risk Duke remembering me, knowing exactly who I was.

"Miss Curtis?" A man's gruff voice called for my attention. I looked up at the dark haired judge who was intently watching me. "Young lady are you okay?" I blinked and slightly nodded. "Then please raise your right hand." The Judge then lifted his hand and gestured toward the bailiff in front of him who was holding a copy of the Holy Bible.

I laid my left hand on the book and raised my right hand to take an oath of honestly. That is when I noticed my fingers, hands and knees trembling, and I was sure everyone in the courtroom could see it too. I struggled to keep my mind free of bad memories as the bailiff walked away and Mr. Montgomery approached.

"For the record can you tell us your full name?"

I shivered, cleared my throat, and inadvertently whispered. "Scout Marie Curtis."

Mr. Montgomery offered me a smile and reached up to grab the rail of the witness stand. "It's okay Scout, just relax and speak up please." I nodded my head and noticed movement in the back of the courtroom. I leaned over to peer around the attorney and saw Darry walking to the front row of the courtroom. He stepped past one reporter and sat down just behind Duke Dobbins. The gesture brought a smile to my face because I understood that Darry was letting me know he wasn't going to let that man harm me again. With my hero in the front row I felt stronger and more confident, so I spoke my name again.

"Sir, my name is Scout Marie Curtis."

"Thank you, Scout." Mr. Montgomery patronized me. "You are doing an excellent job. I know how scary it is for you to sit up here and testify today. As you know we are here to determine if Duke Duane Dobbins is guilty on three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and three counts of kidnapping. It is my hope that you, Scout Curtis, will be honest and forthright with the court today and help us to bring this man to justice." The attorney paused to look at the jury for effect then turned back to me. "Do you see in this courtroom today the man who shot you, who shot Casey Dobbins and severely beat Mary Lynn Dobbins on that Saturday morning?"

"Yes sir, I do," I said slowly, my hands and knees still shaking.

"Can you identify him both verbally and point him out."

"The man is Duke Dobbins." I lifted my finger and pointed at the man in hatred. The same way he had pointed his loaded gun at me. "He is sitting right there."

I remained on the witness stand for the entire day. By the time the court concluded, at four-thirty in the afternoon, I hadn't even been questioned about Duke being in the Dobbin's home. Instead, all of the questions were focused on building a story for the jury about two girls creating a friendship, a mom and daughter trying to start fresh and even my heroic efforts to save small children from sure death. I guess the prosecution wanted to be sure I was established as a credible witness.

Darry and I avoided speaking to the reporters and after a small conference with the prosecution lawyers we headed home. Glad to be out of the courtroom, I slouched in the truck seat and breathed a heavy sigh of relief as we neared our neighborhood. "Honestly, that was exhausting!"

"I'll bet." Darry simply said. "You did real good though. You answered all of their questions well, and I could tell the jury trusts you."

"You think?"

"Yeah I do." My brother looked over at me. "There aint no way all those adults aren't going to believe every word you say."

I let out a smile of relief. "At the rate they're going with the questions I don't think I'll be back to school till next Wednesday. That means you won't be back to work till next Wednesday either. Do you think we can really afford all of that?"

"Listen, paying the bills is my worry, so you and Ponyboy need to stop bugging me about it. Your job is to put the past in the past and focus on your school work and not much more than that."

I looked over at my brother. "Is that why you wouldn't let me go on a date with Owen last weekend? Because of my school work?"

Darry paused before he answered, leaving room for assumptions. "Yes… and I've been thinking, I don't want you dating anyone right now… you're just too young."

"I am not too young!" I sat up and argued, "you can't judge me on my age alone! You need to include how responsible I am, and the fact that next year I'll be a junior in high school." Darry didn't respond, but I could tell by his tight lip he wanted to. Knowing this I added to my argument. "If I wait till I'm older I'll be in college while my boyfriend is in high school!" Darry pulled the truck up to the curb and looked over at me. He opened his lips to speak, but ceased his sentence. I made one last, quiet comment. "He's not that bad of a guy, Darry. In fact, I like him a lot because he kind of reminds me of you." I climbed out of the cab of the truck to leave Darry alone to think about my comments, and his choices for my life.

On my way into the house I grabbed the mail out of the box and noticed an envelope addressed to Darry from the Juvenile Court. I turned around and handed the important envelope to him as he came onto the porch. My brother took the letter and sighed heavily as he read the return address. I followed him into the house. "What's it say? Who is it for?" Darry pulled the paper out of the envelope, but I couldn't read over his shoulder, due to his height. I started to get nervous, "Darry?"

"It's about Ponyboy, from the Juvenile Court. He's got a hearing scheduled for next Tuesday. They'll be deciding on custody then too."

Before Darry and I could discuss the impending day, Sodapop arrived home from work with Ponyboy in tow. My twin must have hung out at the DX station after school. Even though Ponyboy had a lot of homework to make up, it was best that he wasn't alone. He just hasn't been himself lately.

"Hey Pony. How was school?" I asked as my brother wandered past. He only shrugged his shoulders and mumbled that it was okay. I wanted him to stop and talk, after all I had a lot to talk about, but he wandered to his bedroom without another word. I turned toward Sodapop. "What's up with him?"

"Don't know," Soda said as he kicked off his shoes. "He barely said ten words to anyone today."

Before Ponyboy and Johnny ran off to Windrixville my brother and I had been the best of friends. Now, it felt like he didn't even notice me, and didn't even care. After all, I had just gotten back from my first day in court with Duke Dobbins. Surely, after the nightmares I had all week Pony would have cared enough to ask if everything had gone all right. Wanting my conversation with Ponyboy to continue, I headed back to his bedroom. I knocked once on his door, and invited myself in. "What's going on?" I asked casually.

"Nothing," Ponyboy said numbly, then lit a cigarette for himself.

I forced a smile and tried lighthearted conversation. "I thought you said you were gonna quit smoking."

Ponyboy looked across the room at me with a cold stare. "Why should I?"

I gave my brother an annoyed, crooked smile. "Cause they're bad for you, that's why!"

"Yeah right," Ponyboy said aloofly, "I forgot, you're a big Soc girl now. Smoking is only cool if you're wearing the right jacket."

"Ponyboy! What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you, and how much you've changed now that you've been talking to that Soc boy for the past few weeks". Ponyboy took a drag from his cigarette and his eyes flashed with anger. "Hell, you probably don't even tell his friends what side of town you are from."

I blinked with confusion, and looked to the floor recalling my brother's comments in my head. I couldn't believe my ears. He was accusing me of having changed? "Look whose talking! If you think I've changed then you better take an even better look at yourself!" I snarled back at my brother. "Nothing has changed with me, and I am not ashamed of my neighborhood, or my family!"

"What ever you say," Ponyboy arrogantly blew away the last of his cigarette smoke.

"What is your problem?" I snapped back, angered by my brother's curt response.

Ponyboy paused a moment in thought then turned his blond head to look at me. "Maybe my problem is you and that Owen guy. Why do you like that Soc anyways?"

"I don't know!" Frustrated, I threw my arms out then paced a little hoping to subdue my impending anger. "I don't know anything about him! I don't know where he lives. I don't know his family. I don't know how he really feels about me, but what I do know is that he makes me happy, and right now there's not a whole lot in my life that does that."

"Yeah?" Pony growled. "Well, I don't like him, and I don't like the idea of you dating a Soc!"

"Why Ponyboy?" I raised my voice slightly to match the raise in my brother's voice. "So what, he's a Soc! Not all Socs are like Bob Sheldon…"

"Shut up! You just shut up!" Ponyboy yelled, tears forming in his eyes. "I killed that boy! I stabbed him, and he's dead, and don't you ever bring him up again."

"No Ponyboy!" I blinked away my own first teardrops, and yelled at my brother hoping to break him free of his twisted memory. "You didn't kill that boy. Johnny did! Johnny stabbed Bob to save you life!"

"Johnny wouldn't do that! He wouldn't hurt no one! I did it!" Ponyboy yelled at the top of his lungs. Over the sound of my twin's hoarse voice, I didn't hear Darry and Sodapop running to his rescue.

Sodapop came through the door shoving me to the side. He walked up to Ponyboy and spoke gently to my weeping brother. Behind me, Darry grabbed my arm and forceful pulled me out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen. I knew I was in trouble, and I didn't need Darry pointing his finger in my face to remind me that I had screwed up. "What are you doing? Huh? I know I already told you not to bring up Johnny, Dally or the stabbing. The doc says he aint ready to talk about any of that, but you bring it up anyway!"

My lip quivered as I worked hard not to cry in front of Darry. "I didn't mean too."

Darry stood tall and rolled his eyes. "Awe, here we go again! You and Ponyboy never meaning to do anything! Is it really too much to ask that you just leave him alone about all of this?"

I looked to the floor, half in anger, half in shame. I wanted to tell Darry that Ponyboy had started the whole fight by bringing up the Soc, Owen thing, but I knew it wouldn't do any good. Darry was working really hard at babying Pony to make up for hitting him. I didn't want to get in any more trouble, so I mumbled an answer. "No sir. I won't bring it up again."

"Good!" Darry scolded. "Go to your room till dinner's ready."

I turned and headed down the hall. I paused for a moment outside Ponyboy's bedroom door, and grew jealous that Sodapop was at his side trying to calm him down. Seconds later, I slammed my bedroom door shut, buried my head in my pillow and sobbed. Not just for myself, but for the friends and family that I had lost, both physically and emotionally.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven 

The four of us ate our dinner in silence till almost the end of the meal when Sodapop jerked his head up as if he had just remembered something important. "Sissy! You had court today. Was it as scary as you thought it was going to be?"

I smiled in relief. Good ole' Sodapop rarely missed a chance to care about someone in the family. "It wasn't too bad." I looked over at Darry. "I was pretty much petrified in the beginning. Duke was sitting there in a suit with no handcuffs. I mean, I know it isn't possible, but I kind of expected him to have a gun and plans to finish me off."

Sodapop smiled gently. "Naw, he couldn't ever do that."

"I know, but I couldn't convince my imagination of that. I was pretty scared and all, till Darry moved up front and sat right behind Duke. Then I knew I was safe to say whatever I needed to." I looked across the table at Darry and gave him a smile of gratitude.

The sound of the front door opening drew our attention and we waited for Steve or Two-Bit to walk in through the door. None of us could have expected the long legged, dark hair gal who appeared instead. "Cool, ya'll are home. I was so worried ya'll wouldn't be home and I'd have to wait outside on the porch en'all…."

I nearly choked on the milk I was trying to swallow. "Casey!" I jumped from my chair and ran to give my friend a welcoming hug. "Casey what are you doing here?"

Casey hugged me back then declared, "I wasn't gonna let ya go to court against Duke all by your lonesome." We hugged again then Casey made time to greet the boys. "Hi ya'll! Betcha weren't expecting me tonight."

"No, we recken not. How are you doing?" Sodapop said as he sauntered over to Casey and hugged her hello.

"I'm cool!" Casey said and looked towards Darry. "My mama didn't want me to come, but I couldn't let Scout go it alone… you don't mind if I stay here for awhile, do ya Darry?"

From his seat at the table Darry sighed, as I expected he would. "You can stay in Scout's room. I'm sure she'll welcome the company."

"Thanks Darry. You're great!" Casey's eye caught my last brother sitting quietly at the kitchen table. She had to look twice before questioning with a giggle, "Ponyboy? Why on earth did you bleach your hair blond?" Ponyboy's only response was to get up from the table, and walk away to the back of the house.

I winced and looked over at Casey. I easily understand the confused look on her face. "Oh girl," I said, "it's all such a long story. We've gotta talk."

"Okay," Casey said slowly and all of the enthusiasm from moments before had been drained from her words. "Why don't we go for a walk? After that long bus ride I can't stand the thought of sitting down again."

I cringed at the suggestion, and warily looked over to Darry. "Casey and I are gonna go for a walk and talk about everything."

Before Darry could get a word in, Sodapop said, "that's a good idea." Then he looked over to Darry, the same way my mother would look at my father when she had made a decision and she demanded he agree with her.

A frown came over Darry's face and he added a stipulation. "You two stay in our neighborhood, and away from trouble. You hear?"

"We hear you Darry." I told my brother, and quickly slipped on my shoes and coat before he could change his mind.

We hustled down the front steps and headed down the street towards Johnny's house. I stared at the small rundown dwelling, and my throat tightened with grief. In the past few weeks since his death I had been busy enough with everything in my life that his absence didn't hurt much. Now in the quiet darkness, with my best friend by my side, warm memories of my lost friend flooded my mind.

"So, what's up with Ponyboy?" Casey asked casually. She had no idea how much things had changed since she went away.

I drew in a shaky breath. "I don't… there's no easy way to tell you everything…" I wiped the first tears from my eyes and blurted out. "Johnny and Dallas are dead."

Casey gasped and came to a sudden halt. "What? Oh my gosh…" She shook her head and stumbled backwards a few steps. "I think I need to sit down." Casey walked over to the curb and sat. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with concern. "What happened?"

"It's a long story…" Then I told her every event, starting with Darry hitting Ponyboy. I explained everything in detail while we walked through the neighborhood to the vacant lot, the park, and then I finished up answering Casey's questions as we headed towards the DX station.

"I think I could use a drink." Casey said, and sounded as emotionally drained as I felt.

The two of us dried our eyes. Casey threw her arm around my shoulder. "Come on, I got some money. Let's go get a Pepsi at the DX station, and say hi to Steve if he is working."

I agreed and we started walking to the station, our footsteps a little less somber as we chatted about Casey's decision to come back to Tulsa. A half a block from our destination I strained my vision through the darkness and noticed a pick up truck parked at the station gas pumps. I read the side of the passenger door. _Jasper Funeral Home_. "There he is!"

"There who is?" Casey asked, looking around.

"This boy I like."

Casey stopped and grabbed my arm with a smile, "Wait! Scout likes a boy?"

"Yeah, and he likes me too. Come on let's hurry up." I gave a tug at Casey's shoulder encouraging her to walk a little faster, but Owen didn't see us coming. He sped away.

"Awe!" Casey whined. "I better get to meet him before I go."

I looked at my friend as we crossed the street. "How long are you staying?"

Casey shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I aint in school this semester cause Mom and I had a hard time when we first got back to New Mexico, so I guess I'll stay till Darry kicks me out." I laughed, and liked the idea of Casey sticking around for a while. "So what's this boy's name and how did you meet him."

I grinned. "That's kind of a long story too!" I held the door open for Casey and we went inside. My friend bought some sodas and candy bars from, Ronnie. Steve had the night off. We stepped outside and walked across the parking lot when a long black sedan pulled up along side of us. "Hey there!" The sweet girl's voice called out from the car. "What are you two girls doing out past dark?"

"Hi Kathryn," Casey and I both said in unison as we walked up to the car window.

Kathryn took a closer look at my friend. "Casey? What are you doing here?"

Casey grinned with pride. "I've got a job back home in New Mexico, so I bought a bus ticket and headed here to be sure they put my dad behind bars for a good long time. Plus, I really missed Scout."

"Wow!" Kathryn said sweetly, "what a nice surprise! Scout, you must be pretty happy."

I couldn't help but smile. "Sure am."

Kathryn flashed an inquisitive grin. "You know I just saw Owen Jasper leaving. Is that what brought you two girls over here tonight?"

I hadn't had time to tell Casey the name of the boy I liked, so she didn't hesitate to ask. "Owen Jasper? Whose that?"

"Scout's boyfriend! He is the sweetest thing… and very handsome!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" I tried to clarify.

"Oh come on, Scout." Kathryn teased as she rested her arms on the open car window.

"He's not," I grew a little agitated, "and he probably never will be."

A look of thoughtful disbelief fell across Kathryn's face. "Now that just doesn't sound right there, Miss Scout. Because I was at the country club this past Sunday, and I over heard him talking to the boys from the kitchen about how much he likes you."

"He did not!" I blushed.

"Yes he did…"

"Wait a second!" Casey interrupted. "Who is this boy? I wanna know more, and does he work at the country club or is he a 'rich boy' member? Not to mention, is he cute?"

"Hop in Casey," Kathryn said with a mischievous grin, "I'll tell you all about him!"

Casey ran around to the passenger's side of the car and slid onto the leather seat. I opened the rear door and sat in the back of the car to listen to Kathryn talk all about Owen as if he was the best thing next to sliced bread. When Kathryn had finished raving about him, and Casey had finished asking every descriptive question she could think of, I did my best to burst the girlish excitement in the front seat.

"None of that matters anyways! The boy hasn't called me in two days, and he wasn't in school Thursday, and I wasn't there today. Besides, Darry won't let him take me on a date, so I am sure nothing will ever come of the two of us. He's probably lost interest by now."

Kathryn turned and smiled at me, "Don't you worry about your brother. I'll take care of him." The older girl put the car in drive and pulled out onto the street.

"Where are we going?" I noticed she was headed away from my neighborhood.

Kathryn looked in her rearview mirror at me. "Owen is obviously working right now, so we'll head off to the cemetery so the two of you can say hi. Of course, you'll want to introduce him to Casey too." Then the two of them started oohing and ahhing about how sweet Owen was and how much Casey was going to like him. I have to admit the giddiness of seeing him was infectious, and by the time the three of us pulled into the cemetery we had a devised a little plan.

In the back acreage of the cemetery we noticed the shop building garage door open and the light from inside shining into the darkness. We pulled up, and Casey eagerly climbed out of the car. She slipped off her jacket and tucked her shirt tightly into her jeans to show off her figure. She said she wanted to go in alone, so she could test Owen to be sure he would be faithful to me. She strutted into the shop. Kathryn and I followed behind her, being sure to stay out of sight.

"Excuse me!" She called out and Owen jumped away from the engine he was working on. He looked at her, as she flaunted her body more than usual, and spoke in a fake thick drawl, like Scarlet O'Hara. "Hello there, perhaps you can help me. See, I was out in the cemetery and it's just too dark for a girl to be walking home alone. Perhaps you could give me a ride?"

From a dozen feet away, I noticed Owen hadn't paid much attention to Casey sticking her chest out and shaking her thin hips. Instead, he kept his head low and his eyes off of her. "Well, I don't really think I could, but I have a phone. You're welcome to call who ever you need to."

"A phone? Well, I just wouldn't know who to call." Casey responded and she liked that he was playing hard to get. "Besides, I hear you are a specialist at giving young gals a ride home, especially in the pouring rain." My friend was sure to accentuate the final words to get Owen's mind wondering who she was.

Her tactics worked, and he turned his head ever so slightly to look at her. "Who are you?"

Casey struck a sexy pose against the tractor Owen was working on. "Name's Casey… Casey Dobbins."

The young man's eyes about popped out of his head as he heard her name. "You're Casey Dobbins? You're Scout Curtis's friend, right? Does she even know you're in town?"

"She better!" Casey laughed, "she been hiding over there watching me try to pick you up without an ounce of success!" With that cue, Kathryn and I burst out laughing and came out from our hiding spot. Owen quickly looked in our direction. That was when the light struck his face and the three of us noticed the large black and blue bruise on the side of his cheek. Kathryn and Casey froze.

Concerned, I walked towards the boy and spoke gently, "Owen, are you okay?"

Immediately, Owen looked back to his engine and seemed nervous. He tried to hide the right side of his face, and he wouldn't look at me. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"Just a little bruise from playing football. It's no big deal." Owen barked, picked up a wrench, and began to tinker again with the engine. "Listen Scout, I'm real busy and I've gotta get this done. Maybe I'll see you in a few days?"

The smile dropped from my face as I realized things weren't going as my girlfriends and I had hoped. Something was wrong. I grew embarrassed that I had shone up and bothered him. "I… it was Kathryn's idea to stop by. She just thought maybe you would want to meet Casey. Obviously, you're busy, so I'll… I'll just see you another time."

I turned and noticed the frowns on the other girl's faces. I mumbled, "Let's just go." The three of us left the shop and stopped to talk by the side of the car.

Kathryn looked down at me with grave concern. "Scout, something in there just isn't right. We've been learning about different bruises in my social work class, and I can tell somebody hit that boy. You could practically see where each finger had landed." Kathryn looked me in the eye. "I think you need to go in and talk to him."

I shrugged and pulled my yellow sweater down over the waistband of my blue jeans. "I don't know about that. He clearly didn't want to see me. Besides, I've been gone from home a long time and Darry's gonna skin me for being this far away. Maybe we outta just go." I reached for the handle of the car door.

Casey leaned against the door, so I couldn't pull it open. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Scout, I think Kathryn is right. I think you need to go talk to him."

"But he doesn't want to talk to me!"

"He just doesn't realize yet that he needs to talk to you." Kathryn tried to rationalize with me. "Scout, Owen needs you. He needs a friend. "

I sighed, "What am I suppose to do? Just walk in there and ask him who hit him and why?"

Kathryn wrapped her arm around my shoulder, and pulled me towards the open garage door to the shop. "No, just ask him what's wrong and let him know you're there for him if he needs to talk. Don't forget how he has been there for you in the past few weeks?"

I looked up at her. "But? … I won't know what to say."

"Get going Sissy, that boy needs someone, and you're the one." Kathryn pushed me in the direction of the garage door.

I took a few steps forward, and straightened my hair a little before I entered the shop. I quietly walked inside, stopped close to where the boy was working, and softly spoke his name, "Owen?"

Owen jumped up in surprise from where he was sitting. "Jeez Scout! What are you doing back here! I thought I told you I was busy." He turned away from me.

I mentally stumbled trying to find the right words to say, "Kathryn thought … I mean, I thought maybe you needed someone to talk to. She said… she…that it looks like someone hit you. She thought you might want to talk about it."

Owen slammed a wrench down on the workbench. "I don't need to talk about it, all right! It's no big deal; it's just a bruise. I've had them before. I'll survive. Now would you just go home?"

I toughened up a bit. "Owen, I want the chance to help you the way you have been there to help me."

Owen kept his back turned on me, and fiddled with tools on the workbench. "I already told you, there's nothing to talk about. It's just a bruise from playing football with my friends."

I raised my voice a bit, "No, it's not a football bruise. Kathryn says it looked like someone hit you, hard. I want you to talk to me about it. That's why I came back." I took a few steps towards him. "I can tell something is bothering you. You aren't acting much like yourself right now."

The tall boy muttered. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I pleaded with him, "Owen, you're not being fair to me! You know everything about me, even the bad stuff. I know so little about you. I don't know where you live, I've never met your family…"

"Well don't worry about it Scout, you aren't missing anything." Owen's tone was snide.

Angered, I yelled, "Owen! I've had a really long day, so you either tell me what happened or I'm leaving, and I don't just mean going home. I mean I'm not interested in ever talking to you again, or seeing you again!" I paused for a response to my ultimatum. When Owen held still with his back to me, and said nothing, my heart began to break. Slowly, I turned and walked out of the garage. With every step I hoped to hear Owen's footsteps behind me. There were none. Angry, I cursed Owen under my breath and then cursed myself for falling for him. I stepped out of the shop onto the gravel path that led to where Kathryn and Casey were waiting.

"So what did he say?" Casey asked as she walked up to meet me.

"Nothing, he said he was busy." I walked past Casey, and crawled into the backseat of Kathryn's car. I wanted to be alone and hoped Casey would ride up front. She did. On the ride home I told the girls how he had ignored me and that I don't plan on speaking to him any longer. Kathryn must have felt sorry for me because she stopped at the grocery store and bought two cases of Pepsi to take back to my house.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight 

Kathryn and Casey carried the cases of Pepsi-Cola into the house while I held the door open. The mood inside was quieter than it would have been if Johnny and Dallas were alive. Darry was reading the newspaper, probably worrying about my whereabouts, while Sodapop, Steve and Two-Bit played cards at the dining room table. I didn't see Ponyboy, so I just figured he was in his room, as usual.

"Hi Darry." Kathryn started the conversation when Darry jumped up from his chair. "Scout and Casey were with me. Sorry we were out so long. I brought some Pepsi for everyone." My brother took the case of pop from his girl and kissed her on the lips. I blushed at the affection, and Casey put the second case of pop on the coffee table.

"Casey! How are you doing?" Two-Bit yelled and stood up to greet my friend.

"Good to see you again." Steve added from his seat at the table.

I was glad for her, as she got reacquainted with the boys, but I preferred not to stay and chat. Instead, I went into the kitchen and searched for something to keep me busy, so I wouldn't think about my disappointment with Owen. I found the chocolate cake in the icebox and knew that would do the trick. I had never really liked chocolate cake until I began going through hormonal changes. It was then that I found out how well it can help you with your sorrows. I grabbed a fork out of the silverware drawer, and sat down on the floor with the cake plate sitting next to me.

My friend came through the doorway with a bottle of Pepsi in her hand. "You look like you could use a friend to help you eat all that chocolate cake." I held the fork up in her direction. Casey popped the cap off the soda bottle, and sat on the floor next to me. The two of us rested our backs against the kitchen cabinet doors. We sat quiet, and ate small bites of cake.

The sound from the boys in the dining room diminished, and Sodapop appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Everything okay?" I looked up at my brother and shrugged. A knock at the front door drew his attention away from me as he walked into the living room to see who it was.

I turned to Casey and handed her the fork. "I don't know if I did the right thing. Maybe I should have just minded my own business."

Casey dug into the cake with the fork. "I don't think you did anything wrong. You just wanted to help."

"Scout!" Soda yelled to me from the living room. "Owen's here to see you!"

My eyes grew wide. I looked to my friend who was shaking her head in dismay. "You said you were through with him. He wouldn't talk to you then, so you shouldn't talk to him now." Her reasoning made sense to me for the moment.

I sighed and stabbed the fork deep into the middle of the cake. "You're right. If he isn't going to talk to me about things in his life then I don't need him."

Casey yelled a response back to my brother. "Tell him she doesn't want to see him anymore!" Chatter in the house went silent. Even I could hear Sodapop's hesitation at the door then he repeated the message to the visitor. Owen's voice was muffled as he responded, and Sodapop slowly closed the front door.

I stared at the cracks in our kitchen wall and I could feel the questions building on the other side. Soda pitter patted back to the kitchen in his stocking feet, a frown on his face as he looked at me. "He left, but he wanted to give you a message. He told me to tell you, his mother."

Shock surged through my body as I realized Owen had come here to talk about what had happened to him and I had turned him away. I looked over at Casey who gritted her teeth and frowned because she recognized she had misled me. Just behind Soda I heard Kathryn quietly gasp.

Sodapop furrowed his brow with question and asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"

I scrambled to my feet. "Is he waiting for me? Is he still here?"

Soda looked over his shoulder at the front door. "I don't know? I think he left."

I pushed past the crowd in the doorway and sprinted to the porch. I stepped outside and noticed the truck on the other side of the street. "Owen?" I yelled and darted down the sidewalk to the shiny Chevrolet. "Owen wait!" I ran up to the truck, and Owen rolled the window down. With the help of the street lamp I could clearly see the large bruise on the side of his face. He did nothing to hide it. I leaned on the window ledge and pleaded. "Please don't go."

Inside the truck Owen stared straight ahead and simply said, "You wanted to know who hit me. It was my mother."

My heart sank upon hearing the answer again. I spoke gently. "Why? What happened?"

Owen leaned his head back against the headrest and a tear streamed down his cheek. He tried to stifle in his emotions. "It doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter that she did, or that she does. All that matters is I am just sick of hiding it. I'm sick of blaming the bruises on a football game. I'm sick of being scared to go home. I'm sick of feeling guilty because I wasn't home to protect my little sister from my mother's fits of rage." Owen wiped his eyes with his coat sleeve and cried out. "Scout, I am just so tired of it all!"

His words were eerie as memories of conversations with Johnny Cade returned to my mind. For a moment, I didn't know what to say. I had never considered that mothers on the south side of town would hit their kids too. I had assumed it was only low class drunks who participated in that crime.

"You're right." Owen said and looked me in the eye. "It's not fair that everything bad that happens to you I can read about, and anything that happens to me, you may never know unless I tell you. So, from now on I'm going to tell you all about it. I need to learn to trust you because I don't want to push you away."

"Owen, I am sorry I yelled at you."

"No, you did the right thing." Owen looked past me at my house then back to me. "Do you think we could go out tonight? Just the two of us."

Thinking about begging Darry for permission, I turned and looked at my house. I noticed the silhouettes of people watching from the window. Without consideration for my oldest brother's rules, I ran around to the other side of the truck, and slid across the seat, resting next to Owen. "Let's get out of here for awhile."

The boy's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" I shook my head yes, Owen stared the truck and pulled away. For a brief moment, I worried about Darry's impending wrath then I realized Kathryn and Casey were there to convince him to trust me.

Owen drove and spoke. "Scout, I want you to know, I've never told anyone about my mother's behavior."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"It's not that I think you will tell someone, it's … things are different on my side of town. What happens behind closed doors, stays behind closed doors. I guess what I am saying is that it's not uncommon for families on my side of town to have well guarded secrets. It's important to our image, in business and in the community. It wouldn't be good for people to know about my mother."

"I understand." I said, wishing I really did. It was hard to think of all the times I had seen Johnny pushed around by his mother right in front of everyone. I couldn't imagine a sweet boy, like Owen, having a mother as mean as Johnny's mother was. "What does your father do about all of this?"

"My dad?" Owen laughed a little in disgust. "My dad sticks up for her most of the time. He's the one who comes in afterwards to pick up the pieces. He buys my sister, Olivia, and me things and begs us to forgive her for what she's done. I asked him once why they stay together and he told me it was because of his wedding vows, for better or worse, till death do we part. He takes that last part really serious."

"I guess you'd have to admire him for that, but she's hurting her own children. How can he tolerate that?"

"First of all, it doesn't happen as often as you might be thinking. She usually only gets really bad every few months. Secondly, it's because he loves her. He once told me he loves her so much he couldn't imagine living with out her. No matter how drunk she gets or how hurtful she is to us, he just makes excuses for her. He tells me I don't understand her pain." Tears collected in Owen's eyes and he blurted out. "They're not the only one's in pain!"

I had no idea what Owen was talking about, but I could tell he was hurting. I moved closer to the boy, wrapped my arms around his shoulder, and wiped a tear from his cheek. Our drive took us to the gates of the cemetery where my parents were buried, and where Owen was working earlier in the evening. I picked my head up from where I was resting it on the young man's broad shoulder. "What are we doing here?"

"You want to get to know me better, right?"

"Sure."

"There's someone here I want you to meet." Owen drove to the section of the cemetery where the marble and granite headstones stood as tall, or taller than him. He climbed out of the truck and held the door open for me. We walked, hand in hand, through the freshly trimmed grass to a tall, stately piece of rock. I notice the last name chiseled in large letters. JASPER.

"Scout…" Owen's voice cracked and his eyes were filled with sorrow. "This is my brother, Oliver."

The shock of the introduction knocked me back a step then I looked closer at the nameplate on the headstone. _Oliver Joseph Jasper, born June 28, 1950, died October 12, 1961. _Suddenly, I understood how hard each day must be for Owen. "He was your twin brother."

The muscles in the young man's face tightened as he fought back tears and nodded his head. "Oli?" He said to the stone, inhaled his emotions and stood tall. "This is Scout. She's the girl I've been telling you about for the past few months." Owen cracked a smile. "Pretty. Isn't she?"

I turned to Owen and wrapped his lean body in my arms. Immediately, he let go of his emotions like a child. Together we sat down in the cool grass and wept. I waited a few minutes then cautiously asked. "How did he die?"

Owen pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on them. "Do

\you want to know what the papers said, or do you want the truth?"

I pulled a few of his long bangs away from his eyes and calmly spoke. "I want to know what you want me to know."

"Officially, it was an accident that my dad took the rap for. The story on record was that my dad was backing the car down the driveway when my brother rode on his bike into the path of his car. In fact, my dad has told that story so many times, I think he believes it."

"Do you know what really happened?" I asked.

"Hell yeah I know! My dad was no where near the car when it happened!" Owen blurted out, not meaning to yell at me. "Oliver and I were outside because Mom and Dad had been fighting inside for hours. My mom had arrived home that morning, smelling of a cologne my dad never wore. She spent the morning drinking and denying everything. She was sick of arguing with my dad so she decided to get out of the house in a hurry.

See, we have this driveway that makes a circle and Oli and I were racing. He was ahead of me, cause he was always faster than me." Owen laughed a little at the memory then his eyes went ice cold. "She slammed her Cadillac in reverse and backed out of the garage faster than she should have. My mother never looked behind her. She hit my brother with the back of the car. He let out this terror filled scream and then he was quiet." Owen began to cry. "She didn't even see him! She continued to back up into a tree, near our fence. I cried out in horror, jumped off my bike, and ran to my brother's side. He lay there, drowning in his own blood, and she didn't even know she ran him over. Instead, she stumbled out of the car, screaming at me for leaving my bike lay on the driveway. My dad came running from the garage, ordering me to call an ambulance. At first I couldn't move. I guess I was in shock." Owen looked at me with his ocean blue eyes. "That was the first time she ever hit me. She slapped me hard and told me to get inside and call for help. Oli died before the ambulance arrived."

"Owen…." I tried to think of something to say to make everything better, or to make the pain go away, but I knew there were no words to do that.

"Most of the time my mom blames me. She says I hesitated, and dragged my feet too long. For years I believed her. I really thought I could have made the difference if I had been faster. After that I spent nearly everyday running outside on our property. I worked on my quickness and reaction time. That's why I am so good at football. I didn't ever want to be slow again."

My mouth slowly dropped open and my heart ached for the boy. "Owen, you know it wasn't your fault."

"I know that now that I'm older, but when you're a kid you trust your parents and believe what they say is true." Owen dropped his head to his knees and cried out in pain. "She's hated me ever since, and it wasn't even my fault!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine 

We arrived home late at night, and Owen walked me to the front door. Before he and I could share one last good night kiss Darry pulled the front door open. "Good night Owen."

"Good night Darry. Thanks for letting the two of us spend the evening together." The boy smiled at my brother and left.

I walked inside to find Kathryn and the other boys gone. Darry shut the door behind me. "Where have you been?"

I thought of Oliver and my throat began to tighten. "Where's Ponyboy? Is he in his room?" I didn't wait for my brother to answer. "Pony?" I called out as I searched the house for him. I found him asleep on his bed, the light still on.

My lip quivered as I walked to his side, kissed him gently on his cheek and whispered. "Ponyboy, I want you to know I love you. You're the most important person in the world to me, and I don't want to lose you!"

Without a word, to Darry or Sodapop, I retired to my bedroom. I sat down on my bed as Casey slowly walked in and closed the door behind her.

"You okay?" My friend asked cautiously, hoping my night had gone well.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just been a long couple of weeks," I said exhaustedly, and slouched as I sat on the edge of my bed.

"I'll bet!" Casey said and walked across the room to rest against my dresser. "So, did Owen tell you what happened between him and his mother?"

I looked up at my friend. "Yes, but he asked me not to tell anyone, and I don't want to break his trust."

"That's cool. I can respect that," Casey began digging through her suitcase for her nightclothes. "Where did you two go? You sure were gone a long time."

I dug my pajamas out of the dresser drawer. "We went back to the cemetery. He took me there to meet his twin brother, Oliver." I pulled my shirt off and noticed the question in Casey's eyes. "He died about five years ago. He was hit by a car, and Owen saw it."

"Oh my, Scout that is just terrible!"

I shook my head and wiped a tear from my cheek. Casey crossed the room, sat down on my bed with me and held me in her arms. Softly she spoke, "It sure seems you two have a lot in common."

"Not too much." I took in a breath to steady my emotions. "After that he drove me by his home. I'm pretty sure his garage is bigger then our house! You should have seen this place! It was big English style mansion. Owen told me the house has six bedrooms and four bathrooms! Can you believe that? Plus, the whole, huge property is surrounded by a wrought iron fence and gate. It is absolutely unbelievable, and I saw it at night. I couldn't imagine what it looked like during the day."

"Wow! Sounds like a great place for a party. Think he will ever throw one, and introduce me to his wealthy friends?"

I had to laugh; Casey was quite the boy chaser. "I'm not so sure that would ever happen, but if Darry ever lets me out of the house again I'll ask Owen if you can join us." I paused in thought, "so, what did Darry say when I left without permission."

"Not much. Sodapop started teasing him that you were running away, so everyone was joking around and making fun of Darry for being too strict and all. Then Kathryn told him to give you some time to be free. After that the two of them went into Darry's bedroom." Both of us giggled because we were thinking dirty thoughts.

"What did you do while I was gone?"

"Just hung out with the guys." Casey slipped on her pajamas and climbed under the covers of the spare bed. "Sodapop and I had a long talk in the kitchen about Sandy. I can't believe he misses her so much after she was so mean to him. Not to mention she cheated on him too. How could any girl cheat on a man that gorgeous?" I climbed under my covers and shook my head. Casey fluffed her pillow and lay down. "He said he loved her and she didn't realize it. So, I told him maybe he should write her a letter and tell her everything he was telling me."

"So is he gonna?"

"He said he would. Personally, I think he should just find someone new. Soda's too nice of a guy to be worrying about a girl who doesn't love him back."

"I couldn't agree with you more." I said and laid my head back on my pillow. I heard footsteps in the hall, and Sodapop appeared in the doorway.

Casey giggled, "Well, speak of the devil!"

"Hey Scout! When did you get home?" Soda asked and walked into my room.

"A little while ago. Didn't you hear me come in?"

"No," my brother said and sat down on the edge of my bed. "I went with Steve over to Evie's house to get an address for Sandy. I'm going to write her a letter and tell her how I feel about her. Maybe she'll change her mind and come back home."

I faked an optimistic smile for my brother's sake. "Maybe."

"So how was your night with Owen?" Sodapop asked and tried to cock an eyebrow.

"It was kind of quiet. Turns out he used to have a twin brother, but he was hit by a car and died."

"Wow," Soda said somberly, "That's pretty sad."

"Yeah. So the night wasn't a great date or anything. I'm hoping Darry will let me see Owen again so we can enjoy a real date when one of us isn't all teary eyed about something."

My brother grinned, "Don't you worry none about Darry. I'm planning on havin' a talk with him about how strict he is with you. It aint right you can't ever go nowhere and have some fun."

I laughed, "Thanks Soda. I'd appreciate that."

My brother stood up and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. "You two be quiet now, I got to get up for work in the morning, and so does Darry."

"We'll be quiet." I assured him, and he turned the light off and left the room.

In the dark, Casey whispered. "Scout? We never talked about how court was today. Has Duke taken the stand yet?"

I whispered back to her. "No, it took them almost all week to pick the jury and do opening statements. Today was the first day I had to be in court."

"Did you get a chance to tell the jury about everything that happened?"

I pulled my blanket up under my chin as my eyes adjusted to darkness. "No, Mr. Montgomery, the lawyer in charge, just spent time building my credibility as a witness. We talked about my family, my grades, and how well I know you. Mr. Montgomery says on Monday I should be ready to talk about the shooting and all."

"I can't wait!" Casey raised her voice from a whisper with an unexpected excitement. "I'm gonna tell Mr. Montgomery that I want a chance to tell everyone my side of the story."

"Do you think he'll let you talk? Usually attorneys don't waiver from their plan once it's set."

"Don't matter," Casey said aloofly, "I'm gonna find a way to be sure the judge and jury hear what I have to say. I don't ever want my dad free to come after my mom and me again. Not ever!"

I looked up at the ceiling and thought about Casey's mom, Mary Lynn. She was always an attractive woman, but the last time I had seen her she was battered and bruised in the hospital. I paused to ponder why Mary Lynn would let Casey come back to Tulsa to face Duke alone. When he had arrived at the house that Saturday Mary Lynn did everything she could to keep the man away from her daughter. I rolled onto my left side, propped myself up on my elbow, and spoke softly, "Speaking of your mom, how is she doing?"

Casey sighed, "She's fine."

My friend's answer was a dozen words shorter than usual. I realized she wasn't being entirely honest with me. "She doesn't know you're here. Does she?"

Casey hesitated to answer then she slammed her head back into her pillow and griped so loud I thought she was going to wake up Soda and Pony. "How is it you know everything! Truly! It really isn't fair that nothing gets by you! Geez, that really agitates me!"

"So… she doesn't know?"

"Well, not really." Casey sat up and looked through the moonlight at me, "When we moved back to New Mexico my mom couldn't seem to get over what my dad had done to us. She had nightmares and panic attacks. She couldn't hold a job either. She was paranoid all the time, so my grandparents took her in and I had to go and live with my aunt. I love my aunt and all, but she's got four kids and a three-bedroom house. So I hopped a bus back here."

I read between the lines of what my guest had said. "Casey? You're not planning on going back to New Mexico. Are you?"

"Like I said, it's not fair that you know everything!"

Her answer caught me off guard. "What are you planning to do?"

"I don't know. Next week I'm gonna try to find me a job, then get a place of my own or something." Casey lay back down in her bed. "Plus, I'm kind of hoping I can stay here for awhile. I just don't know when to ask Darry if I can."

"I don't know either," I spoke in a low voice and lay back in my bed. "I guess, if you don't ask Darry if you can stay, he can't tell you no. Your best bet is to not bring it up to him. I doubt he'd kick you out. My family has never kicked anyone out onto the street. Not even Dallas Winston."

"You don't care if I stick around here, do you?"

I let out a little laugh. "Casey, having you around right now would be a dream come true."

Casey laughed back, "That's what I tell all the boys! I am a dream come true!"


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's message: Special thanks to Volleyballlover for beta reading this chapter. After I sent this to her I completed further chapters, but they are now trapped inside my broken laptop computer. I will either need to free the chapters or rewrite them. So have patience with me and I hope you all enjoy this chapter _ Chapter Ten 

When I woke, I could tell it was late in the morning because the sun had heated up my room. I pushed the hot covers off of me, sat up, and looked over at Casey. She was still sound asleep. I climbed out of bed and walked quietly across the hall to find Ponyboy in the same condition as my friend. I decided to get a drink and brush my teeth; I always brushed first thing in the morning because I hate the feeling of my teeth not being clean.

As I walked through the kitchen, my feet welcomed the coolness from the linoleum floor. I shuffled through the doorway into the dining room when I noticed a something out of place. I jumped in fear when I realized I was not alone. Sitting there on the couch was a tall boy, dressed in khaki slacks, a blue oxford shirt, and his red and white letterman's jacket. "Owen!" I yelled in shock. All of a sudden, I remembered I was wearing pajamas, my hair was disheveled, and my teeth were not clean.

Owen evidently didn't care what I looked like because he offered up a smile and stood up to greet me.

"I stopped by the gas station to ask your brother Sodapop how I could convince your other brother to let me take you on a date tonight," Owen slowly began to walk towards me, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. "Sodapop pointed out to me that Darry allows you to do anything you want during the day. I figured I should take you out when the sun's still in the sky. Then Soda told me to just stop by and let myself in," Owen stood in front of me. He spoke in a sultry voice, "So I did." The boy slowly leaned down to kiss me.

Seeing his intentions, I jumped back and threw my hand over my mouth. "Uh…uh, Owen!" I said, "Kissing me would be a bad idea. I haven't brushed my teeth yet.

Owen pulled his hands out of his pockets, "Oh, c'mon, Scout, it's no big deal! Give me a kiss."

"No!" I said and backed away playfully. Owen tried to pursue me, but I ran around to the opposite side of the dining room table. I giggled and held my hands out to convince Owen to stay on the other side of the room. "Owen! Owen just let me brush my teeth and then I'll kiss you. I swear!"

Owen cracked a crooked grin. "No … I'm gonna kiss you… morning breath and all!" Owen began to move around the dining room table. I moved in the same direction as he did then he suddenly changed directions hoping to catch me off guard.

I shrieked, "Owen! Don't you dare!"

"You don't honestly think you can get past me, do you?"

"No, but I think you should honestly let me by you!"

"Not without a kiss!" Owen demanded. He placed his strong hands on the dining room table and leaned forward a little. I darted from the backside of the table towards the bathroom door. I gleefully yelled out as Owen lunged to grab me and I slipped by. In one smooth motion he read my final move toward the bathroom and grabbed a hold of my wrist. His strength was more than I had anticipated and in seconds I found myself wrapped up in his arms. "Looks like you're mine!"

"No Owen! You need to let me go!" I laughed and turned my face away from his. That was when I noticed the audience staring from the kitchen doorway. " Um…hey you guys." My ears burned red with embarrassment. Hearing my words Owen looked in the same direction and immediately let me out of his grasp.

"Hey to you two," Casey said slowly and curiously raised her eyebrows. She then walked past me into the living room, and turned on the television. Avoiding conversation, I walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

Outside the bathroom doorway, Owen seemed a little embarrassed as he spoke, "Hi Ponyboy. How are you doing?"

"Fine," Pony simply said as he walked into the dining room staying on the opposite side of the table from Owen.

"I heard you have court on Tuesday. I hope everything works out for you."

"Yeah, right," Ponyboy said, not believing the Soc. He then tilted his head in question. "What happened to your face?"

Hearing the question I held my breath, worried for Owen's secret. I looked out the bathroom door and watched Owen shove his hands into the pockets of jacket and shrug his shoulders. "Oh, nothing. My mom's just got a bad temper is all." A look of shock showed on my brother's face. Owen turned toward Casey and changed the subject of the conversation. "You don't mind if I take Scout away from you for the afternoon, do you?"

Casey looked over from where she was sitting on the couch, "Not if you promise to take me with y'all the next time."

"I promise."

I grabbed the hairbrush and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. After checking my appearance in the mirror, I was satisfied with how I looked. I walked out of the bathroom and turned towards Owen. "I just need to get dressed and I will be ready to go."

The boy looked my way. His blue eyes sparkled, "Okay, but wear something nice."

"Why? Where are we going?"

Owen cracked a smile, "You'll see, when we get there."

I disappeared to my room and quickly dressed in a skirt and sweater. I slid my loafers on and headed back to Owen's side. Before I could get there Ponyboy stopped me in the kitchen. I looked into my brother's eyes and checked for anger or disappointment. Instead, I saw the soft caring glow they used to hold before so much of our lives fell to pieces. He said, "You two have fun."

I felt relief flood my body, and I smiled. "Thanks, Ponyboy." I walked out to the living room knowing things between Pony and I were going to get better again.

Owen led me outside to the side of a shimmering blue and white striped Chevy Camaro convertible. I turned to the boy as he held the passenger's side door open for me. "Wow! Whose car is this?"

"Mine! My parents ordered it for my sixteenth birthday in June, but it just got here a week ago."

"Soda would love this car!" I said as I sat inside and admired the dashboard and soft blue leather seats.

Owen walked around to the driver's side. "I know. I let him sit behind the wheel at the DX Station, and I promised to take him for a ride sometime."

I looked at the boy with a grin, "That's really nice. You have no idea how much he loves cars, especially a new sports car like this one." Owen pulled away from the curb. I slouched a little in my seat hoping the wind from the top being down wouldn't mess my hair up. As we traveled across town the houses began to look nicer, bigger and the lawns were greener. Then we turned down a lane and drove between two large rock pillars. I read the gold embossed sign as we passed. **_Tulsa Golf & Country Club. Members Only_**. "Owen! We aren't actually going inside the Country Club are we?"

Owen looked over at me and rubbed his forefinger on my soft cheek, "This is where I am taking you for lunch."

My jaw dropped open and I looked over at Owen, my eyes showing uneasiness, "But…. I haven't ever been to a place like this."

"Don't worry! You'll do fine. There aren't any special rules or anything. Besides, you're just naturally elegant."

I appreciated the compliment, but as we pulled up to the valet parking attendants, I remembered the mark that Owen's mother had left behind. Wanting to be discrete, I whispered, "What about your bruise? Everyone will see."

Before Owen could answer he pulled the car up to the parking attendant who greeted him. "Good morning, Mr. Jasper."

"Good morning, Jake," Owen replied as a second attendant opened my car door and graciously offered his hand to help me up from the seat.

Jake opened the car door for Owen and continued his chatter. "I see you've been rough housing with your friends again. Looks like they sure got you good this time."

Owen smiled at me, and tipped the man, "Well, Jake, you can't win them all!" The attendants politely laughed as my date walked to my side of the car and I took his arm.

Together we walked into the foyer of the Country Club. In all my life I had never seen something as exquisite as the entryway was. The floors were shiny white marble and large chandeliers hung from the high ceilings. Owen led me to the coat check where the employee took our coats and opened a dressing room for the young man. Owen briefly excused himself into the room and he emerged a moment later wearing a dark blue blazer and tie. I quickly realized there was a dress code and I worried the Country Club members would somehow know I was dressed in second hand clothes when we walked to our table. Inside the dining room I was enamored by the large picture windows, framed in mahogany wood. The chairs matched the window frames and the crystal glasses on the table sparkled like diamonds in the late morning sun. As the maître d' pulled my chair out for me to sit I had to consciously remind myself to keep my mouth from falling open in awe.

My date noticed my amazement, "It's a beautiful place, isn't it?"

I looked across the table at Owen and smiled. "It sure is. I have never seen a place as remarkable as this. Thank you for bringing me."

"Thank you for joining me," Owen's white smile sparkled like the water glasses. "I've been coming here almost all my life. I fear I may have started to take its beauty for granted."

"I can certainly see how that could happen," I said softly and secretly wished someday I would be able to take the same room for granted as well.

Owen ordered for the two of us and during the course of the meal and dessert I was introduced to a few dozen people who stopped by the table to say hi. All of the club members believed Owen's lie about the bruise on his face, and a few of the visitors who stopped by our table recognized my name from the papers and congratulated me for my heroism and bravery. As they walked away, I wondered if they were disgraced at Owen and I together, but each time I looked at my date's infectious smile I told myself it didn't matter.

When our dessert was complete, Owen led me to the back to the kitchen to introduce me to the wait staff and cooks. I found his worry free attitude about social class lines to be charming. I was impressed that Owen knew the name of every wait staff and every cook. As we toured the rest of the country club building, Owen told me he always made it a point to meet every new employee.

"So, are we headed back to my house?" I asked as Owen pulled his car away from the country club.

"No."

"Where are we going?" I asked. My date only smiled. I looked at him with an inquisitive grin. "Where are you taking me?"

He didn't answer and a few minutes later he didn't have to. Even though it had been dark the night before, I recognized the mansion that Owen called home. He pulled the car up to the front door and turned towards me. "You have always welcomed me into your home, now I want to welcome you into mine."

Outside the mansion, I waited for Owen to open my car door and lead me into the massive home. The interior was decorated in expensive fabrics and furniture. This time I let my jaw drop open in wonder as I sighed, "Wow!"

Owen took off his jacket and helped me to get mine off, "My parents and sister are gone for the weekend, so you will have to meet them some other day." Owen tossed the coats onto a nearby chair and led me into the parlor off of the main hall. "This is a portrait of my family, now."

I stepped forward to take a closer look at the family of four, dressed in black suits and dresses. "So, that is your little sister, Olivia?"

"Yeah."

I studied the little girl's face and compared it to the rest of the family. She looked out of place. Owen and his parents had light colored hair and blue eyes. Olivia's hair was a definite brown that matched her even darker eyes. Without thinking I blurted out a question. "Is she adopted?" I turned to look at Owen and without saying a word I realized she wasn't adopted, but she also wasn't Owen's dad's little girl. I instantly wished I hadn't brought up the lack of family resemblance. "Oh… Owen, I am so sorry I asked."

"Don't be. You're an intelligent girl, I would have expected you notice the obvious." Moving to a new subject, Owen grabbed my hand, "Come on. I'll give you the nickel tour."

"I don't have a nickel."

"Hmmmm," Owen faked that the absence of money was a real problem. "I guess I can let you work it off with a kiss."

"Sounds like a good deal," I tiptoed and gave the boy a quick kiss on the cheek. "Okay, I'm ready for the tour."

Hand in hand, the two of us moved from one well decorated room to the next. Upstairs, Owen stopped outside one room where the large wooden door was shut. I looked up at the boy and noticed his face turn a pale color as he slowly spoke, "This… this is Oliver's room." He opened the door and we stepped a few feet into the room. "Everything in here is just as it was the day he died. My mother has the housekeeper clean it, but she's not allowed to put anything away. I haven't been in this room for almost a year." I looked around the room at the tinker toys and train set on the floor. I stayed quiet. I didn't have the luxury in my life to keep my parent's room just as they had left it. Oddly, I was glad I was poor and had to get rid of most of their things. I couldn't imagine having a daily reminder of their existence. Owen and I left the room and headed down the hall to the last room on the tour. "This is my room," Owen raised his arm to welcome me inside.

I stepped into the room with the large pieces of wooden furniture and the blue plaid bed linens. My eye was drawn to a large chest at the end of Owen's queen size bed. "That is a beautiful hope chest."

"It's lined with cedar wood. It smells great. Lift the lid," Owen said as he sat down on the bed.

Slowly, I knelt in front of the chest and opened the heavy wooden top. The smell of cedar wood was strong and sweet, and a pile of newspapers caught my eye. I looked at the headline of the top paper: _Juvenile Delinquents Turn Heroes_. "You've kept all of the newspapers with stories about me?"

Owen nervously jumped off the bed, and stood by the hope chest. "Yeah… I've kept them. I … they are the only pictures I have of you, other than the school yearbook."

I stood up and looked at him. I was still confused as to why he had fallen for me over all of the other girls who begged for his attention. Owen grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. "There's something I want to ask you."

"What?"

He turned towards me and took my hands in his. "Scout? I know we have only known each other for a couple hectic months, but I know you're different than any other girl I have ever met." I felt Owen's hands begin to sweat as his voice held a hint of nervousness, "when I look at you my heart pounds with an excitement I've never felt before. That's how I know you're the right girl to ask this question to. Will you be my girl?"

My pulse began to pound in my head. I felt my knees begin to weaken and knew I had to answer, or I would probably pass out. "Yes, of course I will!"

Owen smiled in relief and reached across his bed. Scooping up his red and white letterman's sweater from the bedpost, he handed it to me. "I want you to have this so everyone will know you are my girl now."

I took the sweater and put it on. It was long and warm. I rolled up the sleeves, and rubbed my hand over Owen's name that was embroidered on the chest. "I really don't know what to say? I've never been someone's girl before."

"You already said yes, you don't need to say anything else." A large chime rang into our conversation. "It's the door bell," Owen said. He grabbed my hand and led me downstairs to the front door. Slowly, he pulled the door open a foot or two to find his best friend Pete standing outside on the portico. "Pete! What's happening?"

Pete had his hands shoved in the pockets of his letterman jacket. "O, A bunch of us are getting together for a game down at Morison's field. Get your stuff. Let's go." Owen opened the door wide enough to reveal me standing in the foyer. A sly smile graced Pete's face and he took a few steps backwards. "Oh, looks like you're busy. I'll catch you later."

"Hold on, Pete!" Owen yelled out and turned towards me. "Scout? How 'bout it? Do you want to play football with us?"

I hesitated. I was uncertain of how the other boys would react to me playing football with them. I spoke uneasily, "I don't know?"

"Please?" Owen begged a little. I looked away from him and noticed Pete grimace.

"Oh, no offense, but the guys aren't really going to …"

"Don't worry about it!" Owen stepped out of the door and put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Scout plays tackle football all the time in her neighborhood. She can handle herself." Owen looked towards me with a grin, "So, are you going to play? Please?"

"Well, I'll have to change first…"

Owen immediately interrupted so I couldn't say no. "No problem! Go get in the car and I'll go change then we'll go by your house so you can get ready. Pete, we'll see you there." With a huge grin Owen handed me my coat and darted up the stairs taking two steps at a time.

Shyly, I pulled my jacket overtop of the letterman's sweater and stepped out of the house on to the front steps next to Pete. Making note of the sweater Peter light heartedly teased me, "You better be careful. At the speed Owen's going he might ask you to marry him next month." I laughed with Owen's best friend and the two of us walked down the stone steps. Pete opened the Camaro's passenger door and helped me in. "I'm really glad you told him yes. He really needs a girl in his life to care about him. He doesn't get much of that at home." Pete shut the car door, winked and walked away.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Owen and I cruised into my neighborhood, but failed to take the most logical turn to my house. "Owen? Where are you going?"

"I thought we'd drop by the DX station and pick up some Pepsis to take to the game."

I cocked an eyebrow and looked at him. "We must have passed a dozen stores along the way where you could have stopped. Why are you going to the DX where my brother works?"

A smile spread across Owen's face. I noticed his eyes pore over over me in his letterman's sweater. "I was thinking it might be a good idea to let Sodapop know about you agreeing to be my girl. I figure if he accepts it there's a better chance your other brothers will accept it too."

I threw my head back with a smile then looked back at the boy. "That's true. I guess you know me and my family better than I think you do."

"You know it!"

Owen pulled into the parking lot at the station. I tossed my winter jacket into the backseat while my boyfriend held my car door open for me. I took his hand and the two of us walked inside to the counter to find Sodapop sitting behind it with his feet on the desk. I leaned towards my brother, "Slow day at work, or are you just being lazy?"

"A little of both, I think," Soda smiled and stood up. "Well... would you take a look at the new sweater." I could barely contain my happiness as I stepped back to model my new digs. Sodapop leaned back on his heels, looked through the door to the garage, and yelled, "Hey Steve, come check this out!"

Steve Randall walked into the station lobby. With a greasy hand he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked to his friend. Soda's face greeted his friend with a smile and my brother pointed in my direction. Steve rested his hands on his hips and sized me up. "Sissy, I'm not surprised to see you looking like that. When did all this happen?"

I stuffed my hands into the pockets of the sweater. "This afternoon after Owen took me to the Country Club for lunch."

Soda playfully shook his head. "Wow! Owen my friend, I don't think you know what trouble you have got yourself into!"

"Soda!" I scolded.

Owen wrapped his arm around me as a sign of solidarity. "I'm sure I can handle her."

Steve laughed. "I don't know about that. She's tougher than she looks."

"That's what I hear." Owen said and walked over to pick up a wooden case of Pepsi bottles. "I'm about to see it for myself though. The two of us are headed over to Morrison's Park to play some football with a few of my friends. Scout says she's pretty good."

"Best girl who ever played," Sodapop boasted and pushed the metal buttons on the cash register to ring up Owen purchase. Owen looked over at me and smiled with pride.

"I'll catch you two love birds later!" Steve called out, and turned to head back to the car he was working on. "And Scout, don't hurt any of those pretty boys. Okay?"

I laughed. "Okay, I'll try not to."

Owen paid Sodapop, the money for the soda pop, and my brother looked over at me. "Did you tell Ponyboy or Darry about this?" Soda motioned to my new sweater.

"Nope. You're the first."

"Playing it safe. Huh?" Soda grinned, and hoisted the heavy case of bottles from the counter to carry them to Owen's car.

I looked up at my brother. "Do you blame us?"

Soda shook his head no. Owen held the station door open for my brother and me. We headed across the lot to the Camaro. "You two have fun at the game, and don't worry about what Pony or Darry have to say about this. They'll get used to it." Sodapop put the case of glass bottles into the car behind the driver's seat. Owen opened the door for me, I pulled my new sweater shut and sat down.

Pulling away from the station I noticed Sodapop pause at the door to watch the two of us drive away. I looked over at Owen as he checked for oncoming traffic. Just then the wind pulled his bangs from his face and he pulled out of the driveway. I relaxed back in my seat.

Suddenly, the rumble of a large truck reverberated in my ears. I looked to my right hand side in the direction of the sound. My eyes grew wide at the sight of a large rusty truck grill bearing down on Owen's little sports car. I let out a terror filled scream just before the collision threw my body forward into the windshield. The world around me grew fuzzy as the rusty truck continued forward; forcing the wheels of the sports car to buckle underneath itself. Sounds of metal crashing and screeching on the pavement sent out a deafening sound just before the new car flipped through the air, ejecting its passengers, and sending a shower of Pepsi bottles smashing to the ground.

"SCOUT!" Sodapop screamed and ran across the lot to the scene of the accident. He dropped to his knees when he reached the area where my body had laid to rest. There was no response as the blood began seep from my injuries. Steve hadn't made it from the garage to the scene of the accident before Sodapop looked up to command him. "Steve call for an ambulance! Call for an ambulance!"

Steve turned on his heels to obey his friend.

"Scout? Scout?" Soda spoke as soft and gentle as he did when he held Johnny in his arms after the boy had been jumped. I made no sound. My brother pushed the bloody strains of hair away from my battered face and pleaded. "Come on baby girl, come on!" He leaned his cheek close to my mouth and could feel a slight breaths still exhaling from my lungs.

Steve quickly returned as a crowd gathered. "Soda! Soda is she alright?"

"I don't know?" Sodapop cried out, tears streaming from his eyes. Remembering that I hadn't been alone, Soda lifted his head to look around. "Owen… where is he?"

Steve twisted his body around to find the blond haired boy a few dozen feet away. He was wiggling around and crying in pain. A passerby was with him urging the football star to stay still and wait for help to arrive. Owen's thoughts turned to me and he began to panic. "Scout? Where's Scout?" Hearing the distress, Steve ran to the boy's side to lie to him. To tell him I would be fine.

My eyes opened to find Sodapop leaning over me, his eyes filled with tears, and his words to me filled with panic. Hoping to calm him down I spoke softly to him. "Don't worry Soda, I'll be fine. I feel fine." My brother acted as if he didn't hear me. Wanting to relieve his fears, I gradually sat up and turned towards him. I rested my hand on his shoulder and whispered. "Settle down, Soda…" I interrupted myself when my peripheral vision noticed the bloody body still cradled in my brother's arms. Taking a closer look I clearly recognized the young girl's face. It was me!

Instantly, I jumped to my feet and dread filled my mind as I tried to figure out how I could feel just fine while my body laid, presumably dead, at my feet. In the distance, I heard the sad sound of approaching police officers and ambulances. I examine the scene around me to find Owen laying on the ground in agony. His arms were outstretched in my direction. His voice was filled with pain as he called out for me. I looked down at myself. My other body didn't move.

I started to walk towards Owen when Steve rushed by me on the way to comfort my brother. I reached out for him but he didn't stop. I yelled his name, but he didn't hear me. Anxiety built up inside me and I ran back to Sodapop's side in time to hear his shaky, barely audible words to Steve. "I think she's going to die. Go call Pony and Darry." It took every ounce of strength Steve had to leave his friend and make the phone calls, but obediently he did.

"Sodapop! I'm not dead!" I cried out for his attention over the noise of the crowd and emergency vehicles approaching. "I'll be alright. Don't give up on me! I'm going to come back to you!"

"Baby girl?" A familiar voice called out from behind me. "Baby girl, is that you?"

My ears went deaf to the commotion. I looked behind me to identify the man's voice. He looked exactly as I had remembered him. He stood as tall as my oldest brother; his stance was gentle, and his eyes sparkled with hope. I felt my mouth drop open as my mind tried to piece everything together. With doubt in my voice I leaned my head forward, just a little, to ask, "Daddy?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter twelve**

"Daddy is that really you?" I blinked my eyes wondering if I was hallucinating.

My dad lumbered towards me, his favorite flannel shirt hanging open to expose his white undershirt beneath. "Why sure it is! Don't tell me you have forgotten me already!"

"Daddy, I have missed you so much!" An immense feeling of relief washed through my soul as I lunged into my father's arms.

"Scout Marie?" I heard my mother's voice, a sound I had almost forgotten.

"Momma?" I pulled my head back from my father's strong chest and looked behind him. My mother appeared in her favorite light green sundress. I knew it was her by her soft green eyes and dishwater blond curls. Her smile was as I had always remembered. I grabbed my father's hand, so he wouldn't slip away, and wrapped my other arm around my mother's waist. "Mom! You have no idea how much I've missed you."

My mother petted my hair and assured me, "Scout, darling, we have been with you and your brothers all along, even now." Mom grabbed my other hand and the three of us turned back towards the accident scene. By this time the paramedics were working frantically to save my life. I looked at Sodapop who could barely stand even with the support of his best friend. My brother cried openly, not worrying about how weak he may have looked to other greasers standing on the outskirts of the scene.

Troubled by the scene, I held tightly to the hands of my parents and asked, "What are you two doing here?"

My dad squeezed my hand back, and spoke sweetly into my ear. "We've come to tell you something."

I looked into my father's eyes. "Tell me what?"

He raised a finger to his lips to shush me. "Not yet, baby girl. We want to stay around a little. We will tell you in due time."

My mother looked over at her son, dressed in a DX uniform, and beamed with joy, "Darrel, look how he's grown."

"Sure is a fine looking young man," my father added. "He has matured too. He works hard to help the family out. That's the mark of a good man!"

"Sodapop's one of the best." Mom sighed. "He's going to make some girl very happy to have him."

My dad looked on at Sodapop and spoke to me. "Scout, you be sure to tell him he'll find someone to love again."

Before I could answer a rusty Plymouth pulled up to the accident. Ponyboy jumped out of the car followed by Two-Bit and Casey. Pony sprinted to Sodapop, and gasped for air when he saw my body being ready to go to the hospital. Two-Bit and Casey grabbed a hold of each other and cried out. The scene nearly broke my heart, but not my parents. They seemed in a constant state of euphoria.

"Oh look, there's Ponyboy," my mother beamed. "I don't like that color of hair on him. I'll be much happier when his darker color returns."

"Maggie!" My father said, "Look at little ole' Two-Bit. You know what Scout, that kid's gonna start going places with his life."

"Darrell, you know you aren't supposed to tell her that stuff."

"Maggie my dear, it's all relevant!"

"What's all relevant?" I asked trying desperately to figure out my parent's phantom rambling.

"Nothing baby," my mom answered. "You know how your father has difficulty following the rules. If he's not careful we're gonna have to go back before we get a chance to see Darry."

I furrowed my brow with question. "As usual you two are making no sense at all. I sure miss you joking together at home."

"Well, from what we've seen and heard you and Sodapop have been doing a fine job keeping the humor in the family." My father leaned down close to me. "That means more to Darry and Ponyboy than you will ever know."

I heard my father's words and wondered how much of the future he knew. I wondered what the afterlife had provided for him and what it would provide for me. I looked back to see my body being placed in the ambulance and Soda, Pony, Casey, and Two-Bit hustling to Two-Bit's Plymouth to follow me to the hospital.

A large puddle of blood and soiled bandages outlined where my body had been. I thought of the worst, and swallowed hard before my question. "Am I … am I dead?"

My dad laughed at me, "Let's not talk about that. Let's just enjoy the time we have together. It's been so long since I have been able to see you and my boys up close."

"There he is!" My mother yelled out in elation. I turned my head back to the scene to find my parents and I standing along the wall in the waiting room at the hospital. Everyone in the gang was there, including Darry. Their eyes were red and swollen as they clung to each other and paced the floor when necessary. For the moment Ponyboy was the worst. He could hardly breathe through his sobbing as Soda held him tightly in his arms. My mother dropped my hand and walked over to her sons. I heard her whisper words to console them and rub the sides of their faces. "Settle down boys. All will be better in time." The boys didn't feel her hand, but I wondered if they felt her comfort.

A physician, dressed in green scrubs, entered the room. Darry and Two-Bit jumped to their feet. My brother stepped forward. "Doctor, is Scout going to be alright?"

The doctor's face held a solemn look. "We've moved her to intensive care. It's too soon to tell. We'll know more tomorrow, if she makes it through the night." The doctor's words rocked Two-Bit back into his seat.

Soda yelled out in anguish, "If? What do you mean if? You've got to do something! You've got to be sure she doesn't die!"

Darry placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and spoke through his own tears. "Easy little buddy."

The doctor frowned. "I'm sorry, but right now all we can do is hope she pulls through. She can have visitors, family only. The rule on intensive care floor is two visitors at a time, but I'll tell the nurses to make an exception so you three boys can go in together." Darry thanked the doctor as he left the room.

I grabbed my mom's hand to get her attention. "Mom! What's going to happen to me?"

She shushed me, just as my dad had done earlier, and avoided the question. "What about Owen? Is he dead?" I looked back to the room, hoping to get a chance to look for any trace of my boyfriend, but the scene before my eyes had changed. I could barely tell who the bruised, unconscious patient in the hospital bed was then a distressed older woman raced into the room followed by a man I had never seen before.

"Oliver!" The woman screamed fiercely and reached out for the young man in the bed. "Oliver you need to get better right this second! Oliver you can't die you just can't…."

A man, in an expensive suit, grabbed for the woman and pulled her back while a few nurses rushed into the room to calm the mother down. The man grabbed his wife. "Angela! You need to calm down right this instant and get a grip! That is Owen, not Oliver. Owen is the only son we have left. You need to face reality!"

"Shut up!" The woman screamed at her husband, "Just shut up! It's not my fault! You can't blame me for this too!"

"Nobody's blaming you for anything. All we want is for you to calm down." Mr. Jasper scolded his wife as she crumpled to tears in the chair near the door. The man turned towards the unconscious boy in the bed. He scooped his arms around his son and cried. "Owen… Come on son. I need you to pull through."

My mother noticed my stare towards Owen's mother. As she always did when she was alive, she spoke words of wisdom to help me through my unspoken confusion. "There are some things you do in life that you don't find peace for until peace finds you. That's how it is for Angela, and that's how it would have been for Johnny. Tell Ponyboy that Johnny is in a better place now. He's happier than he has ever been before. He's found the real love he was always searching for."

"You've seen Johnny?"

"Of Course," mother smiled as the view around us turned white and vacant, "he's with us everyday of your life."

"What about Dally?" I asked.

"Dallas too!" Mom beamed, "and you'd be proud at how well behaved he is."

I laughed a little and remembered the smiles of Johnny and Dallas. I grew excited at the thought of seeing them again. I grabbed my dad's arm and announced, "I'm ready."

"Ready for what?" My father asked with a smile, a carbon copy of Darry's smile.

"To go with you." My eyes, a duplicate of my father's eyes, were filled with question as to why my parents had come for me in the first place.

"Baby girl, we love you so much, but it is not your time. That's why we've come. To send you back."

"No!" I argued a little. "It's okay, I'm ready. I want to stay with you."

My mom reached down and tucked a few of my stray hairs behind my ear. "Honey, it's not your choice. We wish it was, but you have yet to serve your purpose on earth. There is so much more for you to do there."

I felt the first tinge of sadness swell up in my heart. "No! It is my choice, and I choose you two!"

My dad laughed at me. "You always were the headstrong type, even though you didn't show it all the time. Listen, I want you to take a message back with you."

"Darrel! You know that is frowned upon!"

My dad shot my mother a look as if to say, 'what are they going to do, kill me?' Dad bent down and looked me in the eye. "Your brother feels like he has failed us a few times over. Tell Darry we are so proud of him. He is doing the best he can, but he needs to know he didn't let us down."

Realizing the moments were fleeting my mother gathered me into a hug. "And don't cling to the past. You and your brothers need to move on from our neighborhood and create lives of your own. Each one of you has that potential, even Sodapop."

I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. "But I don't want to tell them, I want to come with you."

The light behind my parents grew bright and inviting. They stepped back from me and joined hands. My father smiled down at me and winked, "No Sissy, your brothers need you now." A second later they stepped back into the heavenly shine, leaving me alone in the endless sea of white nothingness.

"NO!" I screamed out and ran into the light hoping to catch up to them.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen **

My eyes opened slightly and a painful burst of light forced them shut. I tried again, my eyes adjusted and my vision cleared. I wasn't dead. I was in a hospital room. I looked around to find greeting cards, family photos and a school paper taped to the wall. Noticing the red B+ at the top I followed the text to the name line. The sloppy handwriting read, _Two-Bit_. Across the room a new letterman sweater hung from the curtain rod with _Owen_ embroidered on the chest. The front page of a newspaper hung near my head with the headline, _Daughter becomes prime witness, father sentenced to 75 years in prison. _I wanted to smile at Casey's bravery, but my body felt as if it were pressed beneath a thousand pounds of weight.

Was I paralyzed like Johnny had been after the church fire? I concentrated on wiggling my toes, they moved. I then wiggled my fingers. They moved and felt the rough skin of someone else's fingers. I slipped my hand free of the grasp and looked to the edge of my bed. Darry was there, sitting in a chair, resting his head on the hospital bed by my leg. My hand moved slowly to his cheek. I could barely command my weary fingers to caress the side of his tired face.

The touch immediately woke him. His concentration on the scene was fuzzy at first then he looked to my eyes. Seeing my baby blues, Darry jumped up from his chair, sat on the side of my bed and cradled my face in his hands. "Scout? Can you hear me? Are you okay?" I nodded my head, and my brother broke down into an immense release of emotion. He gathered my thin body in his arms. "The doctors didn't think you were going to make it, but we never gave up on you. We know how tough you are." Darry pulled away from our hug and smiled through his tears of joy. "I better go tell the nurses you are awake."

My eyes widened. "No… I just…" My mouth was horribly dry as I struggled to speak. "…just us two … for awhile."

Darry looked a little uncomfortable by my request. Worry and common sense told him that it would be best to have a doctor come in to give me a clean bill of health. My brother stood briefly at the end of my bed then nodded his head in agreement. "Okay Sissy. Whatever you need." He smiled and walked over to sit on the bed by my side.

I slowly reached up to my face and tried to remove the oxygen tube from my nose, but my strength was minimal and the tape on my cheek that held the tube was too strong for me to bust. Against his better judgment Darry pulled the tape off for me and placed the tube above my head on the pillow. I smiled. "Thanks Darry."

"I can't believe you are finally awake."

I licked my lips with my dry tongue hoping to help my speech. "What happened?"

Darry looked at me with concern that I had forgotten the accident, and perhaps more. "You were in a car accident, with Owen, right by the DX station." Darry leaned over to the table by my bed and poured a small glass of water for me. He put the edge of the cup to my lips. "Just take a little sip. I'm not sure I am suppose to give you anything to drink." I did as he directed, and he sat back down by my side. "Do you remember anything about that day?"

I nodded my head. "I know there was an accident, but … how long have I been in the hospital?"

Darry grabbed my hand and looked up to the ceiling hoping he wouldn't break into tears again. "Twenty nine days today."

A feeling of shock flashed through my body as I questioned the time line, "Twenty nine days?"

"We almost lost you after a few days. Your heart stopped all of a sudden. The doctors were able to revive you. You've been unconscious ever since."

"Darry?" My throat grew tight with fear, "Owen… is he…"

"He's fine." Darry interrupted to keep me from worrying any further. "He broke his left arm and was in the hospital for a week, but he faired better than you. Docs say he got real lucky. The car you two were in flipped through the air rather than rolled over. So he fell out close to the ground…" Darry paused to ponder whether he should tell me more. "… the police told us you were thrown far from the car…"

"I know..." I stammered, "…I saw it...I was there." I furrowed my brow trying to sort through the images in my head. Were they true or just dreams?

"What do you mean?"

"I…I need to tell you something … Mom and Dad want you to know…." Darry lifted his head to look at me in question. I cleared my throat. "They are proud of you. They know you have done your best."

The smile slid away from Darry's face as his eyes held new questions.

"You haven't let them down." A silence between my brother and I followed my words.

Darry spoke slowly. "How do you know that?"

"I was with them." I blinked my eyes and knew how impossible that must have sounded. "I remember them being with me…" I let my thought trail off as the door to my hospital room opened and a nurse walked in.

"Oh my Lord!" She shrieked with surprise. "You're awake? How long has she been awake?"

Darry looked a bit mortified that I had regained consciousness and he hadn't bothered to tell the nurses. "Not to long mam'. About ten minutes is all."

"I'll fetch the doctor and be back." The nurse turned and headed out of the room. In minutes the doctors and nurses came in and Darry was hustled out. The constant prodding and questions from the hospital staff was exhausting. By the time the doctors had left me alone I was ready to close my eyes and rest again. In my solitude I heard a familiar voice question my brother in the hallway.

"Darry, how is she today?"

I am guessing Darry could barely suppress the smile from his lips as he said, "Why don't you go on in and find out?"

I opened my eyes to find the hospital room door flying open and Sodapop and Ponyboy rushing in. The two of them were all smiles as they saw for themselves that I was awake. They ran to opposite sides of my bed, and knocked heads as they tried to hug me in their arms at the same time.

"Oh my Scout." Sodapop burst out in happy tears. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake. Everyday, I would come here and pray that you would wake up and be the same old Sissy again." Sodapop's crying and words made Ponyboy and me bawl along with him. I cried so hard that my head started to pound in pain.

"I was so worried about you." Pony's raspy voice, spoke into my ear. "I've been here to see you everyday!"

Sodapop chimed, "Everyone has. That way, when you woke up, you wouldn't be alone." Sodapop sat back and cleared his eyes of tears. "Everyone helped out, the three of us, Two-Bit, Casey, Kathryn, Steve, Owen even Owen's friends came over to help us out when we needed a little more rest or couldn't be here." Sodapop looked down and rubbed the edge of the hospital blanket he was sitting on. I could tell something was on his mind, but he let me know what it was before I could ask. "Owen feels just awful about you."

"Soda," Ponyboy said slowly as a warning to our brother that he shouldn't upset me more.

Sodapop cracked a wide grin and sniffled away his sadness. "He's a pretty cool guy. So's his family. They even invited us to Thanksgiving dinner at their house, but Darry said it'd be best if we just stayed home."

I stared back and my mouth dropped open in revelation. "I missed Thanksgiving…" Then I realized I had missed an even more important date. "Soda, I missed your birthday."

"Don't worry'bout it Scout!" Soda gave me a playful punch in the arm. "I came to see you, and the nurses made sure you gave me something special."

I grinned weakly. "Yeah? What did I get you?"

Sodapop winked at me, "Just a chocolate bar… but it was the best chocolate bar I ever had!"

Darry walked into the room drawing everyone's attention. Ponyboy was the first to demand answers. "Did you talk to the doctors? Is everything going to be alright?"

"Did they say when we could take Sissy home?" Sodapop picked up the questioning where Pony left off.

Darry stood at the foot of my bed and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black jeans. "Doc says she's got a lot of work to do before he can say for sure. They're hoping she'll be able to come home before Christmas, but they won't make any promises.

Soda examined me and looked back to Darry in question. "Why? What's the hold up"

"Little buddy it's not that simple. She's got to be able to walk, talk, dress herself and all sorts of stuff before she can come home."

Soda frowned. Ponyboy grew anxious. "Are they worried she won't be able to do all that?"

"No, they say it's a good sign she has strong muscles, she can talk and has maintained her memories…" Darry went silent at the mention of memories.

I caught the look in Darry's eyes. I looked back at my brother and mumbled. "I didn't tell them."

Ponyboy's eyes grew wide with question. "Tell us what?"

"Nothing, it was just a dream." Darry grew defensive, and I expected he was questioning the validity of what I had told him.

"It wasn't a dream." I stared down my oldest brother. "It was real, or at least as real as the afterlife can be."

"The afterlife?" Soda asked, trying to follow the conversation.

Having read more books than our seventeen year old brother, Ponyboy looked to me with interest. "What did you see?"

"I saw Mom and Dad."

"How?" Ponyboy almost shouted his question. "I mean, what did they look like?"

"They looked like themselves. It's all fuzzy now, but I know I was with them. They spoke to me and it wasn't an old memory. They talked with me about things that happened after they died."

"What did they say?" Ponyboy questioned with a little jealousy.

I looked out the window hoping a memory would come to me, but none did. "I'm sorry… I don't remember. All I remember was what I already told Darry."

"What did they say?" Sodapop asked. Everyone could see in his eyes that he wanted to believe me. He was hoping for some sign that our parents never really left us.

Darry looked to me as if I had just started a fight. Once he realized he was going to have to accept the message from beyond, he muttered, "Scout says they told me that they are proud of me and they know I have done my best to take care of all of you."

I noticed the color drain from Sodapop's face. Ponyboy noticed too and asked, "Soda? What's wrong?"

Sodapop seemed shell shocked as he and Darry shared an awkward stare. Soda spoke slowly, "the night that Scout almost died in the intensive care room… Darry and I were talking in the cafeteria about how he worried he had disappointed mom and dad."

Ponyboy joined my brother in shock. "That was right before her heart stopped all of a sudden…"

All three boys looked to me as a bright memory shot back to the front of my mind. Realizing I may have caused my own brush with death, my eyes began to fill with tears. "I… I wanted to be with them. They disappeared into this intense shine and I wanted to go with them, so I ran into the light."

No one in the room made a sound as we all realized what I had been through was more real than anyone of us could believe.

_From the author: Truth is, I gave serious consideration to killing Scout off, but in the end, I just couldn't do it. I know the coma thing can be cliché, but I felt it fit in well with my signature – a dream sequence in every story. This portion of my story was difficult because I want to be as true to the book as I could ( I know that saying that and writing a sister story is an oxymoron, but I still maintain my comment! LOL) So the best way to move the story forward was to skip having to write weeks and weeks of what Scout and everyone would have gone through. –if anyone out there is looking for a writing challenge feel free to write about what was going on with the family while Scout was unconscious. I would love to read anything some one wrote. Just email it to me.- _

_As of today, I have 3 new chapters typed and waiting for revisions. I hope to keep everyone happy and interested. Thanks again for all of your encouragement and interest! You are all responsible for saving Scout's life!  _


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

By mid morning I was too exhausted to stay awake. The nurses told my brothers not to worry because it would be a few days before I began to feel strong again. Knowing I needed time to rest, Darry sent my brothers home with strict orders for Ponyboy to get his homework done and for Sodapop to spread the word that I was awake and doing fine. I feel asleep before my brothers left the room. I didn't wake until late afternoon.

"How are you feeling?" Darry asked as my eyes slowly opened.

Softly I answered him. "I'm good. I'm hungry though."

"Good. The nurses wanted you to try eating some food." Darry left the room to go to the nurse's station. I stretched my sore muscles and licked my teeth. I wondered if anyone had brushed them while I was unconscious. I figured they must have or no one would have wanted to come within five feet of my bad breath.

Down the hall I could faintly hear happy chatter. I heard footsteps quickly approach my room and Owen Jasper stepped inside. By chance, he was dressed exactly the same as he had been the day of the accident. Owen looked at me with grave concern and I smiled back at him. I noticed his eyes fill with tears as he cautiously stepped towards me and cried out in absolute relief. "Scout… I am so sorry for what happened to you."

Looking at his sorrowful face made me cry as well, so I lifted my arms to let him know I wanted him by my side. Owen quickly accepted the unspoken invitation and the two of us embraced and cried together. The boy sobbed about how hard each day had been for him knowing I hadn't recovered from the crash. The lump in my throat kept me from responding. Then he sat back, wiped his eyes and looked into mine. "Scout…" He took a deep breath to calm himself as the tears continued to stream down his face. "Scout… I want to know if you'll …. if you'll still be my girl?" Unable to speak I nodded my head in definite agreement. Owen leaned forward and kissed my dry lips. For the first time in my life I felt I had found my first love, and maybe my true love.

"Alright you two!" A brassy woman's voice chimed in behind us. "Enough with the tears! With a little hard work we're gonna have Sissy home soon, but first it's time for Jello!" The nurse was a chubby older woman with a cheery disposition. She shooed Owen to the other side of the bed so she could roll the bedside table up to me. She cranked the bed up so I could eat and handed me a spoon. "Here we go darling. Little bites, take them slow."

I grabbed the spoon and took a bite of the cherry Jello, which felt cool and refreshing in my dry mouth. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the nurse wink at Owen. Then she laughed a little. "I sure am going to miss having all you good looking gentleman hanging around this floor."

Owen laughed back and I could tell it wasn't the first time the nurse had ogled over any of the boys. "Don't worry Norma Rae, I'm sure you'll find some more favorites soon."

"Not like that brother of hers." Norma said and twirled her finger to tell me to keep eating the Jello and stay out of the conversation. She looked back at Owen. "In all my life I have never seen a young man as handsome as that Sodapop is."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Owen asked playfully. I could tell he had a good rapport with the nurse.

"Oh Honey! I do love chopped liver." Norma flashed a playful grin. "Chopped liver and Sodapop!" The nurse then looked at me and winked, "That older brother of yours would be quite the catch too!" I laughed and almost choked on my Jello. I realized how great of a nurse she was to be joking around with the boys when they came to visit. It was important to make them laugh in a time when they could find little else to laugh about.

"Don't listen to her Scout!" Darry's voice boomed from the doorway and he smiled, "Norma Rae would take a liking to me and just cheat on me later."

Indignantly Norma Rae turned to my brother and teased. "Now Hercules, you know Mama Rae would let you down easy, I don't want to cause no heart, no pain. I just like a good looking young man when I see one." Owen and Darry shared a laugh while the nurse checked the IV's in my arm and took my blood pressure.

"Sugar plum," she said to Darry. "Looks like your little Scout here won't be needing that feeding tube down her nose anymore. Swallowing seems normal, although we won't be trying anything but soft foods for a few days."

I made a look of disgust. "I had a tube down my nose?"

"You betcha sweetie! Three times a day we'd come in here to feed you by shoving a tube up your nose and down your throat."

I shook off the imaginary feeling of the tube being in my nose. "I'm glad I don't need to be awake for that!"

Norma Rae laughed and winked again at Owen, who just blushed. "Alright you two, no more tears. I'm going to get a few orderlies and Sissy's gonna see if she can stand up and use some muscles for me." The lady gathered my empty Jello bowl and looked toward Owen. "Cream puff, when I come back you'll have to wait outside for a little bit." The nurse left the room along with Darry.

"She sounds like a real character." I commented.

Owen sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, she is the best. She works the nights and a lot of weekends. As soon as she meets you, she never forgets who you are. I remember the first day I came up to see you. I brought this big bouquet of flowers and she insisted they were for her. After joking around a little she led me down the hall to your room and let me know what to expect when I saw you. I really appreciated that." Owen drifted off into thought for a few seconds. "I love how she always calls people sweetie and honey and stuff. Kind of makes her like a grandma or something."

I smiled up at the boy and summed up his feelings. "She's like a silver lining."

"Yeah…" Owen said quietly then pushed my hair back from my face. "Scout…" He leaned forward and gently kissed my lips. A rush of excitement sped through my body as if I was enjoying my first kiss with Owen all over again. The two of us continued to kiss till we heard the sound of approaching footsteps. My boyfriend looked at me with his ocean blue eyes. "I've got to get home. It's Sunday and you know how my mom can be with the Sunday dinner rules thing, but I'll be back tomorrow after school to visit. You take care and work hard. Okay?"

"I will."

Norma Rae returned with her orderly and Darry. Slowly, she explained how together everyone was going to help me to stand and we were going to count the amount of seconds I could be on my feet. I only half listened to instructions, because I knew I was strong and that standing was like second nature. I was wrong. The moment I slid off the edge of the bed my legs buckled beneath me. I had no strength at all and the feeling of helplessness panicked me. I cried out, but Norma reminded me that not everything would be like it used to right away. She told me how lucky I was that the only thing I was missing was muscle strength. "Darling, the limbs are working, we just need to get them practice is all."

I felt defeated as she tucked me back in bed. Till then I had been thinking like Sodapop. I figured I'd eat some Jello and jump right out of bed and be like I used too. Handling the truth was harder then I could have imagined, and my road to recovery was sure to take some time.

By the end of the day Casey had stopped by to talk to me about everything I had missed in the last month. Including Duke's trial and the testimony she gave to put him behind bars. She told me that they had some lady read all of my statements to the police and lawyers so even though I wasn't there I still helped to be sure he was put away for a long time. From her one-sided conversation it seemed like Casey had found a nice niche for herself in my home. She had been working at the Big Boy as a second shift waitress for the past few weeks. She said she'd stay with me during the day then work at night. Casey gave almost all of her earnings to Darry so he didn't have to work his second job. This gave Darry more time to watch over Ponyboy and me. My friend said she planned to keep the job even though she was going to go back to high school at the start of the second semester. Apparently, Darry said she could stay with us indefinitely. I imagined she started to ask him if she could and he only agreed to let her because she wore him down with her incessant chatter. Darry isn't the talkative type.

A knock at the door grabbed our attention. Two-Bit and Soda waltzed into the room.

Casey jumped of the bed in excitement. "Hey Two-Bit, hey Soda!" Casey took a look at Two-Bit then pushed my brother back towards the door. "Soda, why don't we give these two some privacy. My friend pushed my brother out into the hallway. Two-Bit watched them leave then wandered over to my side, roses in hand.

"Hey there Sissy," he said with a wide grin, "I got you something, and I didn't lift it. Paid for these with my own money."

"Two-Bit! They're beautiful!" I reached up to touch the soft red petals. "They are just what I need."

"I thought you would like them." Two-Bit said and he set them on the table by my bed. "So how they been treating you?"

"Pretty good. I ate my own supper tonight, but I can't stand on my own. Doc tells me not to worry and that we'll try again tomorrow."

"Well, if the doc says not to worry then I don't think you should." Two-Bit sat down on the edge of my bed and glanced at the paper he had taped to the wall a week ago. "Did you see my grade?"

I looked over at the paper and then back at the young man. "Yeah, I was wondering what that was all about."

"It's all about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when you told me to stop messing around and start making something of myself after Johnny and Dally died?"

"Yeah… kind of."

"When you told me that it just made me mad at you. Then when I had to rush Casey and Ponyboy to your accident it all became clear to me at just how much I need to start taking care of myself. That week I went in to talk to the Principal and he said if I was serious he'd help me, but first I had to get my grades up to prove I was serious." Two-Bit cocked an eyebrow. "I got that grad last week, first grade I ever got over a C."

"I'm proud of you Two-Bit."

"Oh! And I got a job at the little grocery store near the DX. Get this, besides stocking shelves it's my job to catch shoplifters." Two-Bit laughed out loud. "How great is that? Plus you should hear my mom. Every time I come home in this little white shirt and black tie they make me wear she says, 'do I know you?' I never thought it would, but it makes me proud to have a job."

"I could have told you that."

"You _should_ have told me that!" Two-Bit laughed and pointed at me.

I cocked an eyebrow. "I probably did!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Casey came on Monday morning like she had every week before, but now things were different. The nurses had me involved in rehabilitative therapy for the better part of the day, and when I wasn't in therapy she was hustled out of the room so I could rest without distraction.

By early afternoon the staff let her know that I would be well cared for and she didn't have to stay all day if she didn't want too. Casey kind of agreed. She walked back into my room after the nurses had pulled the shades and directed me to take a nap. "Scout?" She whispered, "Is there anything you need? If not I'm going to head home for a little bit. Ponyboy, will probably stop by after school."

I was exhausted as I beamed with thankfulness to my friend. "Just one thing, if they're not too expensive."

"What's that?"

"I want to write some thank you cards to everyone who stopped by and left a card for me. I'll need a couple pens too."

"Cool! Will do! I'll run to the gift shop or the drug store and bring them right back." Casey gave me a thumbs-up, and headed out the door.

I wasn't awake when she returned, but she had the note cards and a stack of get well cards and other things sitting on my bedside table where I could easily reach them. I stretched my sore muscles and sat up. I pulled the rolling table over my bed and grabbed a pen and note card. I knew who I was going to write to first. I steadied the pen in my hand and began to write.

_**D E A R **_ I looked down at the scribble on the paper and tried to steady my hand better. _**D A R R Y**_

It was no use. I had also lost the ability to write with a pen in any sort of script that wouldn't be mistaken for second grade handwriting. I grew frustrated with my brain failing to tell my muscles what they were supposed to do. I pushed the pile off the table and onto the bed. The cards, letters and other pieces of paper spread across the bedspread and some pieces floated to the floor. I pounded my fists into the mattress. An envelope with my name on it slid out from between the scattered cards. I picked it up and tore it open. Inside I found an English paper titled, "A Moment That Changed My Life, by Owen Jasper". It was written over a month ago and he had received an "A" for his work.

I flipped to page one and began to read.

_Most days, I only heard my dad talking about work at the breakfast table. I'll never know for sure why I was listening one morning about a man and his wife killed in a car wreck on their Wedding Anniversary, orphaning their children who were about my age. _

_Months later I sat down in the same spot for breakfast and noticed the newspaper headline, Drunken man assaults wife, daughter and neighbor girl. It wasn't the first time a crime like this had made the headlines of the Tulsa Herald, but my attention was drawn to the name, Scout Curtis. I thought hard about why it sounded familiar then my dad leaned over and pointed to Scout's name. _

"_That's the daughter of that couple that was killed on leap year. You remember the Curtis couple buried on the back acreage in the Jasper Family Cemetery?" _

_I pulled the paper toward me and read the story. The woman was beaten by her ex-husband, and the two young girls had been shot after witnessing the near death assault. I tried to imagine a life without my parents and the horror of nearly being killed by a man I didn't know. Those events from the north side of town seemed so far from my life. I never imagined the turn of events to follow. _

_I brought that newspaper article to the Country Club with me at dinner time, and asked everyone if they knew either of the girls from the story. No one had, except a girl named Marcia. She recognized the name and told me Scout's brother worked at a gas station on the north side of town. The boy had a strange name that was hard to forget, Sodapop. He was a handsome boy so many of Marcia's friends went out of their way to buy gas at the station just to watch the boy work. Knowing that, I started filling all of the cemetery vehicles at that DX station whenever they needed gas, but for the rest of the summer I never saw the girl from the black and white newspaper photo or heard her name spoken until the first day of school._

_I entered European History class, and walked past a small girl sitting in the front row. I looked down at her just as she looked up. Her crystal blue eyes met with mine and she quickly looked away as if she was ashamed. I furrowed my brow_ _and wondered what I had done to upset her. I sat down near the back of the class with my friends from the football team and leaned back in my chair as the teacher took the first role call of the year. _

"…_Scout Curtis…?"_

_I barely heard the girl respond as I sat up in my chair and stared at her. I couldn't believe the girl I had wanted to see for weeks had looked right at me. I sat back and studied her. Everyday afterwards I walked into the room and tried to make eye contact, but the girl was evasive. It would be weeks before I would have the opportunity to grab her attention._

_A loud thunder crack raced across the sky leading to an almost immediate downpour. I gathered up the garden tools I had scattered near the new gravesites and sprinted to my truck. For all my speed and effort I couldn't escape the rain and I found myself soaked as I sat in the warm cab of my truck. I put the truck in gear and headed to the tool shed, on other side of the cemetery, when a noticed a small figure running in the heavy rain. I slowed my truck, pulled up alongside the girl and opened the passenger cab door. I invited her to climb in. First, she hesitated in the cold rain then she climbed in. I noticed she was sure to stay close to the door and very far away from me. I kept and eye on the girl, wondering who she was. When she turned to face me my heart began to race and I recognized those crystal blue eyes, here she was again._

_The two of us made small talk as I drove her home. She never realized that every time I heard her soft voice or caught a glimpse of her beautiful face, my heart would pound in my chest and I found it hard to breathe. Something attracted me to this girl, and I had to find out what and why. _

_The next day I hurried to history class hoping for the chance to ask the blue-eyed angel on a date, but she wasn't there. I spent the afternoon driving through her neighborhood looking for her then I stopped by the service station where her brother worked. I was just about to ask him if she was home sick for the day when I noticed the boy wipe a tear from his eye. His buddy patted him on the back and mumbled. "Don't worry 'bout it Soda, she'll come home soon. She'll be alright." My mouth dropped open as I wondered where she had gone and if I would ever see her again._

_My answer came the next morning in the form of the newspaper. I pulled the front page off of the coffee table and stared at the four pictures on the front. There, in black and white, was the girl. She and here friends were heroes for saving the lives of a dozen children from a church fire in the small town of Windrixville. I knew the town, my parents own a funeral parlor and cemetery there. The article said she was indeed the girl orphaned last winter after her parents were killed in a car wreck. She had been living with her brothers ever since. Life wasn't bound to get any easier for her. Ponyboy, her twin brother, and his friends were, wanted for questioning in the stabbing death of Bob Sheldon. Even with all the hard work the older brothers has done to keep the family together the recent troubles meant she and her brothers might be separated and placed in homes apart from one another. I just about cried when I read those words. _

_I reached over, picked up the phone and called my best friend, Pete. I asked him to read the article and told him she was the girl I had been talking about. My friend lightheartedly joked with me that I was crazy to want a girl from the north side of town. He reminded me we were headed to the movies later that day with a gaggle of pretty, wealthy, willing girls and I could have my choice of anyone of them. A year ago that speech would have been all I needed, but this girl… she was the one. _

_Hours later I convinced Pete to take his car for gas at the service station where Scout's brother worked. When we got there my friends and I met up with some south side girls and started to chat. Suddenly, my eye caught a glimpse of a familiar face. A few dozen feet away, on the curb sat the girl I had been looking for, and I wasn't going to waste the opportunity to speak to her again. My hands were sweaty when I approached her. I tried to play it cool as I pointed out the obvious, that she wasn't in school on Friday, and then congratulated her for being a hero. I told her that my family was proud of her and I was too. Then I mentioned I kind of liked her. I expected the girl to melt like all the others, but she didn't. Instead, she told me the same thing my best friend had told me, I was crazy and that I didn't even know her. Before I could make my rebuttal and appropriately ask her on a date my friends called me away. I left the girl behind on the curb in person, but I took her with me in my memory. _

_Later that night when Pete and I were the only ones in the car I told him that the next time I saw her I would ask her on a date no matter what. My friend laughed, but he knew that when I wanted something it was rare I ever let it slip away. Neither one of us would figure the next time I would see Scout it would be at a funeral the day she had to bury two of her friends. Even in all her heartache the girl was gracious enough to agree to a date. Things didn't go so well at Rusty's Diner, but it was the best date I have been on._

_Last night, I sat on her front porch, and in the moonlight I kissed her for the first time. I knew then and there it had been worth the wait because with that kiss I realized the things in my life I had taken for granted. I learned that someone could appear to have nothing; a small battered home, and old rusty car, or hand me down clothes, but actually have everything. Scout is a girl, seen by my peers as having nothing, but in reality she has everything anyone ever needs, the love of her family. After that kiss, I will never be the same. Never again will I look down upon people who have less than me. Scout Curtis's kiss gave me something I hadn't had in years, love. _

Tears filled my eyes and I reread the last line to be sure I hadn't made it up. The sound of the door opening drew my attention and Ponyboy walked in, all by his lonesome.

"Hey," he said in a raspy voice.

"Hey," I repeated and blinked the tears from my eyes. An awkward smile spread across my face when I noticed the concern for me in my brother's eyes. I shrugged a bit and sighed, "Well, I think it's official. Owen thinks he loves me."

Ponyboy half smiled as he shoved his hands into his pocket and his sweatshirt drooped a little off his shoulders. "Yeah, I already figured that. He's a real nice boy, Scout. I think you are lucky to have him."

"Really?" I asked with doubt in my tone.

Ponyboy reached down to pick the scattered greeting cards up from the floor. "I mean it. He's been pretty cool. He really cares about you." My brother scooped the remaining cards on my bed into a pile and sat down by my side. My lip started to quiver as I thought about how much I loved my twin brother and the large empty gap that seemed to form be between the two of us the older we got. Pony noticed the tears welling up in my eyes. "Come on Scout, don't cry. It'll all get better."

I whined, "I don't know that it will! My hands are so slow I can barely write, my legs aren't working like they should, and I've lost some of my memories."

"What do you mean?"

"Yesterday, Soda was telling me about a day we spent together after I was shot, and I don't remember one minute of that. Then this morning Mrs. Dillard, our social worker, came by and I had no idea who she was."

Ponyboy stayed quiet a moment then laid down next to me, pushed his arm under my neck and wrapped me in his arms. "Well... but...I bet you haven't forgotten everything!"

"Maybe not, but I have no idea of knowing the stuff I have forgotten."

Pony sighed, "Do you remember when we were in the second grade and we wanted to go camping, but Mom and Dad said they couldn't take us? We got all of our money together and bought some marshmallows, took some of Mom's clean bed sheets to the lot to build some tents and make our own campsite?"

"Yeah," I smiled and wiped my eyes. "Johnny walked over and we let him camp with us."

"Yeah."

I laughed at the memory. "I remember how we told dad that we were brave enough to stay out there all night, but Soda and the others came out and spooked us once it got dark. We ran home and slept with Mom and Dad that night."

Ponyboy laughed, "Oh! I forgot about that! See you haven't forgotten everything, and the stuff you have...I'll tell you all about them." Pony leaned over and kissed the top of my head. Then we lay there and shared the old memories. Some I had forgotten, some he had forgotten.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Slowly I pulled on my skirt and sweater Darry had brought me from home. I paused for a moment to think about how different clothes felt from the hospital gowns I had been wearing. I slipped on my loafers and stepped out of the bathroom."

"Princess! You sure do look lovely." Norma Rae threw her hands onto her wide hips. "In all my life I never looked as cute as you do, even in a coma you were just a beauty." I blushed and knew I would miss everyone's favorite nurse now that I was going home. Norma Rae winked at me. "I sure will miss those brothers of yours. Especially that boy Sodapop. Is he single?"

I laughed, "As single as a dollar bill!"

The nurse giggled with me and the two of us heard the noise of boys coming down the hospital hallway. "Well sugar plum! Sounds like the calvary is coming." Norma Rae patted the top of the wheel chair she had parked in front of her. "Hop in. It's time for you to go home and get on with your life." I slowly sat down in the wheelchair as Soda and Ponyboy came bounding into the room.

"Hey Norma Rae!" Soda greeted my nurse and wooed her with a kiss on the cheek. Soda tried to push her away from the wheelchair handles. "Move over, I'll drive."

Norma Rae didn't budge. "No way sweet roll! It's my hospital and I'll be doing the driving. Besides, I'm guessin a wild child like you doesn't drive with as much caution and care that I do."

Soda's face grew slightly serious and he looked down at me. "I do now."

Darry entered the room with stern authority and instructed Ponyboy and Sodapop to grab the boxes of stuff that had accumulated in my hospital room over the last month. "Come on, let's get you home Sissy."

We left the hospital and squeezed into the cab of the truck. The tight fit was a little uncomfortable, but none of us cared. It was just after four in the afternoon when I grabbed a hold of Darry's arm for support and ascended the front porch steps to my house. Ponyboy and Sodapop raced ahead of me into the house, while Darry held the screen door open for me. I was barely inside the front door when the group, gathered inside, yelled. "Welcome home!"

I blinked my eyes and studied the faces inside, Casey, Kathryn, Two-Bit, Steve, Evie, Soda, Pony and Owen were all there. A chocolate cake sat on the coffee table with the words 'Welcome Home' spelled out with horizontal toothpicks. I smiled back, "Thanks everyone! It's so good to be home."

Waves of emotions washed through me, but before I could get upset Casey raced to my side to get the party started. "Scout, I've got to get to work in a little bit so you gotta open the gift Owen brought for you, cause I'm just dying to know what it is. Cool? It's a huge box!" Casey pulled me over to the middle of the couch and she sat down next to me. "Okay Owen!"

Owen blushed a little and picked a large rectangular shaped box off the dining room table. He walked across the living room, set the box in front of me on the coffee table and sat by my side. Bravely, he kissed me on the cheek in front of everyone. "I'm really glad your home." Owen grabbed my hand and I knew he was nervous because his hands were sweaty. He smiled at me, "I actually have two gifts."

Graciously I smiled back. "Owen you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know," he said, "My friend, Bethany helped me pick it out. I hope you like it."

I reached over to the thick blue cloth ribbon and pulled the loose end to untie the bow. I pulled the ribbon free of the box and lifted the lid. My eyes widened at the sight of what was inside. Slowly, I reached over and pulled the beautiful blue satin and lace gown out of the box. Nearly speechless I said. "O, it's beautiful, but..."

"Scout?" Owen anxiously interrupted me. "I know you just got home, but I want to know if you'll accompany me to the Winter Formal at the Tulsa Country Club this Saturday?" I looked at the gown and realized the dance was only two days away. I looked back into Owen's eyes. He could clearly see my hesitation as he tried to convince me to go with him. "We don't have to dance at the dance if you're not ready to. I just ...I've been wanting to ask you to the dance since the first day I met you."

I held the dress on my lap and caressed the expensive material with my fingers. I wasn't physically ready to go to the dance, but I knew better than to miss the opportunity to attend one of the most elite dances in the city. "Yes, I'll go to the dance with you!" Owen smiled in relief

"Cool! Oh I am so jealous!" Casey let out a squeal of delight. "I can't wait to see what the next gift is. Come on Owen, spill it, where's it at? Hurry up I've got to get to work."

"Geez Casey do you rush a man through everything?" Steve jokingly asked.

"Not everything." Casey said seductively then winked in direction of Steve, Evie and Sodapop.

Owen smiled, stood up and turned towards Darry. "My next gift is actually for Darry and the whole Curtis family." Owen licked his lips and nervously wiped his hands on his khaki pants. "My parents and I wanted a way to tell everyone how sorry we are that this had to happen to your family. I know it wasn't my fault, but I can't help but think that I could have done more to see that truck run the stop sign. If I had... well..." Owen stopped himself from rambling on about the 'what if' part of the accident and reached into the pocket of his letterman jacket. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket along with his car keys. "I know how much you all need a car to fit you family into so we'd like you to have the car outside. Every thing is ready, you just need to sign the title." The young man handed the paper and set of keys over to my older brother.

Darry took the keys into his hand and stood speechless. Sodapop and Ponyboy made enough noise for everyone when they raced to the window to see the new car. I turned around on the couch to look with my brothers. In amazement Sodapop gawked, "It's a Lincoln Continental, probably 1958?"

"Fifty nine," Owen corrected him. "I know it's no hot rod, but we've got so many cars with all of the funeral parlors. This was the oldest one in the fleet and my dad was gonna sell it, but I convinced him otherwise."

Darry stepped forward with a . "Owen, we really appreciate the gesture, but we can't accept it."

"What?" Soda yelled. "Yes we can! Owen, if he won't sign the papers I sure will."

"Yeah, I will too." Steve said as he stared in amazement at the long black beauty."

Owen played tuff. "Darry, even if you don't sign the paper, I'm not taking the car with me when I go. I'll just leave it out there on the street forever."

"But..." Darry began.

Owen interrupted. "My family's business has plenty of cars and plenty of money to get a new one with out selling this one."

"Just sign the papers Darry!" Two-Bit yelled out. He was the type of guy who knew a good steal when he saw one. "Here, I got you a pen."

I watched Darry read the title to the car. He hesitated for just a moment and looked over at me. I raised my eyebrows to say to him, what are you waiting for? Then my brother signed his name and the boys in the room cheered out loud.

"Cool!" Casey yelled into my ear. "Hey ya'll I need a ride to work, Soda why don't you get the keys from your brother and drive me there in style?"

"Not so fast little buddy." Darry stopped Soda from grabbing the new car keys. "You can take the truck."

Sodapop belly ached a little then grabbed the truck keys and headed out the door to make sure Casey got to work on time. When Soda got home everyone sat down and ate dinner and cake. In between bites I looked around the room at our close knit family of friends and I knew my parents were smiling down at us.

Just before ten o'clock my brothers and I climbed into our new car and drove Owen across town to his home. It was the first time any of the boys had seen the mansion and it impressed them. When we pulled into the driveway and my brothers stepped out of the car so Owen and I could say good night in private.

"I hope you like the gown," Owen said and grabbed my hand in his.

"Of course I do, it's like a dream."

"Good, tomorrow I'll take you and Casey downtown to find some shoes to go with it, my treat."

"Owen, you've already done so much, I'm sure Darry can give me some money for the shoes."

The boy shook his head no. "It's not gonna be that way. I invited you and it's my responsibility, and I don't want you to argue with me."

I surrendered and chose to lean in close for a kiss instead. "You are so unbelievably wonderful!"

"You bring out the best in me." Owen said then climbed out of the car and headed into his house for the night. The ride home was smooth and comfortable. By the time we made it back to the house I was fast asleep. Darry never woke me as he carried me into the house and put me to bed. ****

I woke up a few hours later needing to go to the bathroom. I looked at the clock. It was almost midnight and my legs ached bad. I thought about the long walk to the bathroom and wondered if I could hold on till morning so someone could help me. Waiting wasn't an option. I told myself I could do it alone without having to wake anyone, even though each of my brothers had told me to let them know if I needed help. Slowly, I rose to my feet and tip toed out of the bedroom in the dark. Methodically, I put one foot in front of the other, silently I grimaced at the pain of moving.

I walked through the kitchen and was surprised to see a lamp in the living room still lit. I stopped in the kitchen doorway to see who was awake. I wasn't surprised to see it was Casey, who must have recently returned home from work. She wasn't alone. I looked over at her, straddling a young man who was sitting on our couch. Her waitress uniform was stripped down to her waist. Lucky for my eyes she still had her bra on, but judging from the young man's hands on her back he had plans to change that.

I wished I wasn't in the predicament of interrupting. I considered returning to my room and waiting for morning, but again my body told me that wasn't an option. I tried to continue on in silence, carefully I walked across the wooden dining room floor, but inevitably the loud squeaky planks gave me away.

As the sound yelled out my presence Casey immediately concealed her bra covered breasts with her arm and turned in horror to see who had witnessed her behavior. The young man leaned over to look beyond his date. My eyes quickly met with his and my mind screamed out my discovery, Sodapop! I raised my hand up to cover my eyes to pretend that I didn't see, and I tried in vain to move quickly to the bathroom.

Sodapop grabbed Casey's waist and tossed her aside. He jumped from the couch and ran to me. His bare chest showing and the button on his blue jeans undone. "Sissy?" Soda grabbed my arm to help me with my steps. "If you were going to walk all the way out here you should have yelled out. I would have come to help you."

I didn't look at either of them as I hurried to the bathroom.

"Are you alright?" Sodapop's words told me he was genuinely more concerned about me than having been caught kissing Casey.

I spoke quickly to avoid further uncomfortable conversation. "Yes, thanks Soda, I'll be fine." I closed the bathroom door and breathed a sigh of relief. I finished what I had come to do and washed my hands. I stared at the closed door knowing my best friend and brother were probably waiting on the other side. I grabbed the edge of the sink and leaned on it for support. Clueless as to what to do or say I dropped my head to think. All that filled my mind was how much I wanted my brother to be happy.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. Sodapop let himself into the bathroom with his bare chest now covered by a white t-shirt. He shut the door behind him. A frown shadowed his face as he shoved his hands into his pockets and spoke softly. "Scout? I should have told you about Casey and me, but the truth is no one else knows and we weren't sure anyone would approve of it."

I looked long into my brother's eyes and knew that his happiness was what I wanted more than anything. I spread a smile across my face. "Don't worry about it Soda. I'm happy for you. Come here." I called my brother into a hug. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground so I didn't have to use my own legs to stand.

"Come on, let me get you back to bed." Soda turned around and squatted down in front of me. "Hop on," he said. I jumped onto my brother's back and wrapped my arms around his neck. Sodapop carried me down the hall, dumped me onto my mattress and tucked me into bed. "If you need anything, all you need to do is call for me and I'll be there for you. Got it?" I nodded and Sodapop kissed my forehead. "I love you Sissy."

"I love you too Sodapop."

My brother and I smiled at each other as Casey appeared in the doorway, her face pale from nervousness as she spoke. "Scout, I understand if you…"

"Don't worry about it," I interrupted, "your secret's safe with me."

"You're not mad?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "How could I be mad when my brother and best friend are happy together?"

Author's note: I want to thank all of my readers for their continued support and encouragement to continue this story. Unfortunately, real life has consumed my time and keeps me from this story. I will add chapters when I have time. I would suggest marking this story for alerts because I will not be able to post chapters on a weekly basis as I have for the past year.

Thanks again to every reader!


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note:** I would like to thank all of the readers for sticking with this story and begging me to get back to it! You're Awesome!

**Chapter Seventeen**

I slipped my toe into the high heeled shoe. The pair had been my mothers, and they were the perfect shade of blue to go with my formal gown. Straightening my posture, I slowly inhaled to calm the butterflies in my stomach.

"Don't tell me you're nervous." Casey said as she primped my hairdo one last time.

"I am."

"Don't be. You look gorgeous." Casey stepped back to look at me.

"I'm so nervous I can't stop shaking for nothing." I held my hands together to hide my trembling fingers.

"You aint shaking cause your nervous." Casey tried to calm me down. "You're probably just shaking because you're in those high heels. You just got steady on your legs in your tennis shoes, you shouldn't expect to be too steady in those heels."

"I know. I know." I took in another deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I thought about how the boys in the gang smoked cigarettes to calm their nerves. I considered it briefly then came to my senses knowing tobacco would do nothing more than make me sick to my stomach.

Ponyboy's voice echoed in the hallway. "Scout! Owen's here."

I shot Casey a nervous glance and bit my lower lip.

"Don't do that sweetheart. You'll ruin your lipstick."

Pony appeared in the doorway. "Wow!" is all he said.

"Gorgeous, aint she?" Casey asked with a pride filled grin.

"I'll say." Ponyboy replied sounding a bit like his friend Johnny.

"Both of you just hush!" I commanded. "I am anxious enough without you two doting over me like that."

"If you want us to stop, you're gonna have to leave." Casey reminded me that my date was waiting. Pony walked over to me and offered his arm to escort me down the hall. I grabbed on, Casey led the way and my brother and I walked slowly to the living room.

My twin spoke in a low voice. "I hope you have a real good time tonight."

"I will, I promise." I assured him as we walked into the living room to find Darry and Sodapop grinning ear to ear. Owen, dressed in a striking black tuxedo and a bow tie, stood next to Darry. Owen held my corsage in his hand. He looked a little paler than usual, I wondered if he was nervous too.

"Scout, you look beautiful." My date said, and he took my hand in his. They were cold and clammy, he was nervous.

"Thank you, Owen." I responded and felt the feeling of butterflies increase in my stomach as my date lifted the rose filled corsage to my chest and carefully pinned it on. I felt flush and embarrassed as his warm hand brushed against my chest. Then he kissed my cheek and took my hand again. "Are you ready to go?" I shook my head yes.

"Not so fast!" Sodapop grinned and walked over to the fireplace mantle. He picked up mom's old camera. "You two get together for a picture." As Owen and posed to have the moment captured forever I wondered how Darry and Soda had afforded the film. Pictures were expensive.

After the flash bulb popped Soda trotted up to me and grabbed me in a big hug. "Sissy, I hope you have the best time ever!" Then he turned toward Owen, "you take good care of her or you'll have me to deal with." Everyone in the room laughed a little at the lighthearted threat.

"Trust me!" Owen reached out and shook my brother's hand as he gave him his word. "I will."

I looked over at Darry who was standing tall with an odd grin on his face. I paused a moment waiting for him to threaten Owen too. Then he stepped forward and kissed my cheek. "You two have fun."

I giggled at the sight of my tough brother having so little to say. "We will, thanks Darry."

Owen and I headed outside while my family crowded in the doorway to watch us leave. Owen led me to the porch steps, and I looked out into the street. My face dropped at the sight. "Is that the new car your parent's bought you?"

"Yeah," Owen said as he looked at the shimmering blue and white striped Chevy Camaro. "I know it's kind of eerie, but I insisted it not be a convertible, so…"

"It's fine. I'm not worried." I lied to Owen. The truth was it was eerie to be climbing into a car almost identical to the one that almost cost me my life. I bit my lip out of nervousness again and heard Casey's voice in my mind that I would ruin my lipstick. I gently pressed my lips together to fix any cosmetic damage I had done, and walked beside Owen to the car. He was a perfect gentleman, opening the car door for me and helping me climb into the car.

Owen pulled the Camaro into the long line of expensive cars waiting outside of the Tulsa County Club. I carefully watched as the parking vallets escorted elegant girls out of the cars, while their dates walked around the car to join them. I studied the debutante's posture and demeanor to be sure I emulated them. I didn't want to make a fool out of myself with poor manners.

We pulled up under the entrance canopy and the valet pulled open my door. "Good evening Miss." The dark haired man greeted me and offered his hand. I stared at his gesture and panicked a little. I knew my legs wouldn't help me out of the sports car without more assistance. In the background I heard Owen's voice yell out.

"Hold on Sam. I'll help my girl out of the car."

"No problem Mr. Jasper." Sam backed away from the car door. Owen leaned into the car close to me. His cologne smelled intoxicating and my heart beat fast as his strong arms lifted me to my feet. Outside the car, Owen made sure I felt steady on my feet before we slowly strolled toward the front door. I kept a tight hold on Owen's arm and reveled in the extensive glamour of the evening event.

"O!" A familiar voice yelled out.

Owen glanced over his shoulder. "Pete!" Owen and I stopped to wait for his friend.

Pete and his date, Bethany, walked towards us. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, and Bethany was stunning in pink chiffon gown. Pearl and diamond earrings hung gracefully from her ears and matched her ornate necklace. Pete's smile was ear to ear as he greeted us. "Scout, it sure is good to see you. You look very nice tonight."

"Thanks." I smiled back.

"I bet you are happy to be out of the hospital." Bethany added as more Socs began to gather around us.

"Yes, I am." I simply said. I noticed her demeanor was very different from the first time I met her in Rusty's diner the day of Dallas and Johnny's funeral.

"Jasper!" A loud voice called out. "Man, what are you doing here! I thought you'd be hanging out on the other side of the tracks with that girl you almost killed."

The expressions on the faces in the crowd turned to frowns as Owen's eyes fell to glare at David, the same rude boy from the diner.

"What?" David rudely questioned, but he didn't recognize me. "It's just sad that you'd choose a greaser chick over your team. God knows if you'd been hanging out in your own back yard you'd have been able to finish off the football season and we'd all be walking in here state champions. But we aint, no thanks to you!" A few of the bystanders quietly warned David his comments were out of line.

Owen's ears began to get red as he snapped at his classmate. "You better watch it David."

David didn't care, as he grew cockier. "I'm just saying I think you ought to leave the trash in the dump."

"Knock it off!" Pete yelled out in an attempt to keep the peace. He stepped in front of David and gently pushed him backwards away from Owen.

"Let's go inside Scout." Owen said. I agreed and we turned to head inside. My steps were slow and labored as my legs were getting tired.

A few yards behind us David couldn't resist one last comment as he realized I was Owen's date for the evening. "Oh my … looks like your girl's a greaser and a cripple!" David laughed at his comment then added the final blow. "Did you do that to her Jasper?" David didn't have time to utter another word. Owen shook my hand off his arm, darted towards the boy and threw a hard right handed punch at David's cheek. David's head snapped to the side following the impact, but he didn't falter as he charged toward Owen, fists ready. Owen threw one more punch before David, the bigger of the two, returned the gesture. The two boys fell to the ground in a makeshift wrestling competition.

"Hey!" Sam's voice called out as he and the other valets came running towards the fight. "You two break it up this instant!"

Pete reached down and pulled Owen up and away from David. My date's hair was tussled and his cheek was beginning to redden from where the punch had landed. I looked at David, his nose and lip were bleeding, but he didn't mind. He seemed to welcome the clash.

Sam stood in front of the young man as he sat on the ground licking his wounds. "David Pearson I've had about all I can tolerate with you! Every week it seems your causin' some kind of trouble. You're going to have to talk to the Director of the Board before I'll let you in the country club tonight!"

David jumped to his feet. "I didn't cause any trouble. Jasper did! He attacked me!"

Sam shook his head and I heard him say. "Owen Jasper doesn't cause trouble." Then the man escorted David to the service entrance of the building.

Embarrassed by the spectacle, I looked away into the crowd of people and my eyes met with a familiar face, Cherry Valance. She stared back at me, her lips slightly parted in disbelief. I sized her up in her long, dark red gown and glanced at her date, Randy. I recognized him from his visit to our house. Instantly I felt horribly out of place.

Owen brushed his jacket clean and walked up to me. I looked back at him and wanted to ask him if he was alright, but a lump had formed in my throat. I didn't know why I was getting so upset, but I was. Owen noticed. He took my face in his hands and looked into my eyes. "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. You're the girl for me, and nothing is ever going to change that."

His words were sincere as they rushed through my soul and helped to calm me down.

"You understand that. Right?"

I gently nodded my head. My date smiled in relief. Swiftly he bent down and picked me up off of my feet like a new bride. I wrapped my chilly arms around his warm neck and smiled as he carried me inside to the dance.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Owen carried me into the foyer of the Country Club. It was even more exquisite then before, as it was decorated for the holiday season. Glistening Christmas trees lined the walls and were filled with glass ornaments and colored ribbons. We were greeted by the flash of a photographer's camera. The fat, older man lowered his bulky equipment and walked towards us. "That's quite an entrance! Can I have your names for the picture caption?"

"Scout Curtis and Owen Jasper." Owen obliged as Pete and a gaggle of Owen's other friends began to huddle around us.

The newspaper photographer lifted his eyebrows. "Owen Jasper the high school running back?"

"That's me." Owen smiled with pride.

The man shook his head in dismay. "That was just a shame to hear about you breaking your arm in that automobile accident. Your football team really struggled with out you on the field, and ya'll had a good chance of making it to the state tournament."

"Yeah." Owen said quietly. "There's always next year." I remembered his conversations with me at the side of my hospital bed. He hated sitting on the sidelines watching the football team struggle and lose without him. I hated that some of the players, like David, continued to blame their losses on the fact that Owen wasn't able to be on the field to score the points and win the game. It sure put a lot of pressure on him.

"Good to hear you'll be back out there again." The photographer said cheerfully, and stepped away to take a photo of another couple entering the building.

I turned towards my date with a frown. Owen noticed my look and stopped me from saying anything. "Quit worrying Scout!"

I widened my eyes. "Who said I was worrying?"

"I know what you were thinking. You wanted to blame yourself for the accident, and for the football team losing, and for the fight outside, but it's not your fault!" Owen stared at me waiting for an argument. I didn't give him one. He was right and Owen realized I knew that, so he smiled at me. "Are you ready for a wonderful night?"

"It's been more than interesting so far." I said with a hint of sarcasm. I turned and looked ahead to the large doorway that led to dance hall. An arbor covered in satin ribbons and fresh flowers graced the entrance. "It's all so elegant!"

"This is one of the biggest events of the season in Tulsa!" Owen offered his arm to escort me inside.

The two of us walked into the ballroom where the ornate decorations continued and a band, in matching turquoise smoking jackets, played one of my favorite songs. I remembered how Sodapop and I loved to dance to the song, our feet moving quickly to the beat. I hoped Owen didn't want to dance to too many fast songs. There was no way I would be able to dance like I used to. Thankfully, we walked to the side of the dance floor and sat down at a linen covered table. Pete and Bethany quickly joined us followed by Matt and Mary, a couple I remembered from the day at Rusty's Diner. I politely greeted the guests then turned back to watch the crowd of kids dancing to the music. I didn't think they danced as well as a group of greasers would. The Socs appeared to dance a little farther away from their partner and with less rhythm. They danced as if they were being judged or watched. Greasers just danced to dance, as if they had no cares or concerns. Well, at least the greasers who danced, danced that way.

In the new social scene I began to realize more of the pressures the Socs had to live with. They were constantly judged for the clothes they wore, the car they drove and the friends they kept. It wasn't like that in my neighborhood. We seemed to understand and accept each other better. I doubted that Tim Sheppard worried that Sodapop was better looking then him or that Darry wore nicer clothes. Again, I was a little more thankful that I had few possessions and less pressure on me from being judged by my peers.

"Earth to Scout! Come in Scout!" Owen yelled trying to gain my attention. I snapped from my thoughts and laughed at him. "I asked you twice if you wanted to dance?"

I listened to the band and the rapid rhythm of the song. "I'd love to dance, but I don't know if I'll be any good."

"Don't worry, I'll lead." Owen assured me. I took his hand and he led me out to the dance floor just as the band changed it's tune to a slow song. I thought about how perfect the timing was because I just didn't have the strength or the coordination to dance the way I usually would. As promised, Owen wrapped his arm around my lower back and held my other hand up to lead me across the floor. We slowly moved with the music. I looked into his eyes, as blue as the ocean, and my nerves grew calm. The outside world seemed to drift away. I breathed in deeply and smelled his sensual cologne.

Softly I felt Owen's breath in my ear as he talked just low enough for only me to hear. "Scout, there's something I've been wanting to tell you." My date swallowed hard and I felt his hand begin to sweat as he continued. "I never thought I would meet a girl like you. Someone so smart and beautiful who doesn't judge others. I didn't know girls like you existed." Owen pulled his head away and looked into my eyes with a smile. "I love you."

My heart raced and a nervous smile formed at my lips. I struggled a few seconds for the words to say. Then a feeling of serenity filled my senses and the perfect words formed at my lips to express my emotions. "I love you too." Owen stopped dancing and leaned in close for a passionate kiss that made me weaker in the knees than I already was.

The band played two slow songs in a row, which was enough dancing for me. Owen and I returned to the table to watch the others dance. There wasn't a dull moment for hours as Owen's friends stopped by our table to laugh and swap stories. A few times Owen and Bethany took to the dance floor for a couple of fast songs. It was fun to watch them, and they were both decent dancers. I guess most girls would have frowned at their date leaving them behind, but I didn't mind. Pete kept me company, and Owen saved all of the slow dances for me.

On stage a dark haired man in a dark suit stepped in front of the microphone and yelled out! "Is everybody having a good time?" I recognized his voice from the radio.

The crown enthusiastically answered back.

"That's great to hear because it's time to announce the election of the Tulsa Country Club Winter Formal Court and King and Queen!" The crowd screamed even louder.

The emcee continued, "Club members have cast their ballots to form the Court and here are the results…" I listened as the names were called out. Girls screamed and cheered as their selected friends jumped for joy and gracefully walked up the stairs to the stage. Boys hooted and hollered for their friends as the young men strutted to the stage being sure their tuxedos and hair were looking their best. I sat in my chair and thought about the newspapers articles I had read in the past about the Tulsa Country Club Winter Formal. Owen was right. It was the biggest teenage social event of the year, and to be on the Court was a high honor among the upper class community. "…the final two entries to the Winter Formal Court are … Charlotte Evans….. and … Owen Jasper!"

Owen stood up from his chair and cheered for his appointment to the Court. I stood up as well to join the standing ovation Owen received. My date smiled at me and kissed me on the cheek before trotting up to the stage. The boys in the crowd began to chant the running back's last name as he and Charlotte took the stage with the eight other entries, which included Bethany and Pete. Now, I sat alone on my side of the table, but I was happy for Owen. He was such a sweet boy and he deserved the accolade. The Emcee called for applause as the finalists for the Court stood in a line under the bright lights for the hundreds of Soc's in the crowd to marvel at.

A lady from the Country Club, dressed in a blue gown, stepped forward on the stage and began to read a slight biography for each member on the Court. I crossed my feet underneath me, right over left, as all young ladies should and leaned forward to listen a little more intently about each member. Their life stories seemed full of charm and glamorous achievements, nothing like me.

When the woman finished the Emcee sized up the Winter Formal Court members one last time then turned back to the microphone to address the crowd. "And now the moment everyone has been waiting for, presentation of the Tulsa Country Club King!" The crowd cheered loudly in response. "I have here in my hands the name of the winner." The crowd quieted down as a semi-silence spread across the room.

"This year's King is Owen Jasper!" The crowd of socialites screamed in excitement as Owen cheered for himself and walked over to the Emcee. I stood up to applaud and laughed to myself as Owen adorned a royal purple cape and crown to go with his new title. The lights went dim and Owen stood in a spotlight.

The Emcee turned towards Owen and spoke into the microphone. "Congratulations Owen, from what I hear your election as King was a landslide. Now, in keeping with tradition here at the Tulsa Country Club it is time to select your queen." The man motioned towards the five young ladies who were jittery with excitement.

Owen Jasper stepped in front of the microphone and looked out into the crowd. "Every year the Winter Formal King makes his selection for Queen. This girl should be one who meets the required qualities. She must be intelligent, virtuous, responsible, respectful and above all she must present herself with grace and dignity. I know a girl who possesses all of those qualities, and more." Owen looked to the girls on the stage beside him and then back to the crowd. His blue eyes shimmered as he flashed a slightly defiant smile. "For my Queen I choose Scout Marie Curtis."

The crowd gasped and the noise quickly turned to a steady murmur of disbelief. I stood frozen in my spot stunned by the honor yet too scared to move into this seemingly forbidden world. My state of shock went unnoticed as Charlotte Evans stormed toward Owen.

"Owen Jasper! You must choose one of the girls from the Court. You can't just choose anyone you want!"

Owen laughed at the demand. "There are no rules that say the King must choose from the Court."

"Sure there are!" Charlotte protested and looked towards the Emcee and the woman representing the Country Club who was standing on the stage holding the Queen's crown and bouquet of roses.

Owen's voice was amplified by the microphone as he challenged the girl. "The rules say the Queen must possess the qualities listed and nothing more. She doesn't have to be on the Court."

Charlotte twisted her attention back to the woman with the crown and stomped her foot in a fit. "Tell him it must be a lady from the Court!"

A second woman in a red skirt trotted up next to the Country Club representative and whispered in her ear. The two women shared a short conversation and the one holding the Queen's royal endowments stepped forward to the microphone. "I'm sorry, but after a review of the requirements Owen Jasper, as the elected King, is free to choose any Queen he sees fit. She need not be a lady elected to the Court."

Charlotte cried out in disgust and threw her hands down, being sure to stomp her feet as she stormed back towards the ladies on the Court.

Owen reached for the microphone and repeated his earlier statement. "As your elected King, I choose Scout Marie Curtis." My date smiled with pride and took the Crown and roses from the woman. He jumped down from the stage and sauntered towards me. My hands trembled and a very worried smile spread across my face in an attempt to hide my fear of rejection from the crowd.

Owen walked up to me, laid the bundle of roses on the table and took my hand to lead me to the center of the dance floor. The crowd was almost silent as he slid the tiara onto my head. Close by I noticed Randy Anderson as he rose to his feet and slowly began to clap his hands together in approval. Seconds later, Cherry Valance rose to her feet to join her date in congratulating the new King and Queen. Slowly the applause began to build into a thunderous gesture as the Socs began to accept the idea of an Outsider as their Queen.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

The sun was peeking brightly through the blinds and had heated up my bedroom. I looked across the room at Casey's bed. It was empty. I remembered she was scheduled to work the breakfast shift at the restaurant. I used my aching legs to kick the hot covers off me. Staring up at the ceiling a moment, I dreaded the thought of walking all by myself. There was one way to avoid the pain. I took in a deep breath and yelled. "Sodapop!"

In seconds my older brother was through my bedroom door dressed in his jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He took a flying leap and landed in bed with me. His grin told me of the mischief that was brewing in his brain. I looked at him as seriously as I could. "Soda, don't mess with me! My body is aching and I've gotta go to the bathroom."

"So whad'ya call me for?" Soda asked.

"I need you to carry me." I frowned a little for effect. "My legs are too sore."

"Serves you right!" Sodapop teased as he swung his legs to the floor and sat on the bed in front of me so I could climb on his back. "Hop on, you're Highness." The title made me laugh. I had stayed up late the night before telling my brothers and Casey all about my evening at the Winter Formal. Even this morning I was still in awe over the events that had taken place.

Sodapop carried me out to the dining room where the morning newspaper was open to the Social section of the Sunday paper. My eye's caught a familiar face, my own! "Whoa Soda!" I called out. My brother gently set my feet down on the floor.

I looked across the table at Darry, who was reading the Sports section. He smiled at me. "I thought you might like to see that part of the paper this morning."

I pulled out a chair and sat down. The headline read _Winter Formal Crowns King and Queen_. I looked a long while at the black and white picture of Owen and I posing as King and Queen. Some how I felt like I belonged there, even though many in the community would disagree. Next, I turned my attention to the lengthy article and began to read quietly to myself.

_The Tulsa Country Club crowned Owen Jasper, 16, heir to Jasper Family Funeral Home Inc., as the Winter Formal King. Jasper then selected Scout Curtis, 14 and from the North end of Tulsa, as his Queen. It was the first time in the Winter Formal's 66 year history that a Queen was selected who was not voted to the Winter Formal Court. It is also the first time a Queen has been selected who is not and has not been a member of the Tulsa Country Club. _

_Jasper accepted his crown with a near landslide of votes from youth and adult members of the Club. He then shocked the nearly 300 Winter Formal attendees by selecting a commoner from the crowd instead if selecting a Queen from the five young ladies appointed to the Winter Formal Court. Jasper defended his decision by stating he has selected, in Curtis, a Queen who is "intelligent, virtuous, responsible, respectful and presents herself with grace and dignity. Those are the only requirements for the Winter Formal Queen". _

_Several members of the Tulsa Country Club questioned Scout Curtis' appointment as Queen due to the fact that she was not selected to the Court. Molly Mulgrew, Social Director for the Country Club, confirmed Saturday evening that the rules state "the Winter Formal King is required to select a suitable queen for the duration of his term". The Winter Formal Court is established when the members and employees of the Club, both youth and adult, cast their nominations for finalist for the Winter Formal Court. In order to be considered for the Court youth must have presented themselves as an upstanding and virtuous member of the Club, their school and their community. The selected King is then required to choose a virtuous Queen. The young women on the Court are provided to assist the King in making a wise choice, but it is not specified that the young lady need to come from the Court." Mulgrew further commented that the appointment made by Jasper will not be challenged by the Board of Directors for the Tulsa Country Club unless Curtis is deemed unfit to serve. _

_Social sources are quick to point out that Jasper has been romantically linked to Scout Curtis since the two were involved in a near fatal crash in October of this year. The accident occurred when Jeb Brown of Brown's Junk Hauling failed to obey a stop sign. The convertible Camaro, driven by Jasper, was broadsided by the truck. Jasper and Curtis were ejected from the vehicle upon impact. Jasper suffered lacerations and broken bones. Curtis, suffered lacerations and major head trauma. Sources at Tulsa Memorial Hospital shared that on more than on occasion last rights were administered to Curtis, which were attended by her three brothers; Ponyboy Curtis, 14, Sodapop Curtis, 17, and legal guardian Darrell Curtis, 20. _

_The Curtis family has made headlines more than once this year since the death of their parents, Darrell and Margaret, in an automobile accident last February. Scout Curtis first made headlines as the victim, and lead prosecution witness, in a brutal dispute between Mary Lynn Dobbins and her ex-husband Duke Dobbins, both from New Mexico. During the dispute Duke Dobbins viciously beat his ex-wife and shot his daughter, Casey Dobbins, 16, and her friend Scout Curtis. _

_Weeks later the Curtis family made headlines again when Ponyboy Curtis, Scout's twin brother, was wanted for the murder of Tulsa Country Club member and past Winter Formal King, Bob Sheldon. Before Ponyboy Curtis could be found for questioning he, his sister and two other juveniles from the north-side of town, Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston were praised for their work in rescuing more than a dozen children from an abandoned church fire in Windrixville, Oklahoma. Cade, also wanted in the murder of Sheldon, died as a result of injuries sustained in the fire. Winston was later shot dead by police following his role in an armed robbery. Ponyboy Curtis was acquitted of all charges._

_Currently, the three Curtis children are in the custody of their older brother Darrell Curtis. Darrell is best known for his role at Tulsa High School where, as quarterback, he helped the football team to two back to back runner-up positions in the state tournament. Following the death of his parents the Tulsa High honor roll member gave up college dreams and took two jobs to help care for his younger siblings. Both Ponyboy and Scout exceed their older brother's academic accomplishments by being a year ahead of their peers in school and on the honor roll. Another sibling, Sodapop, is a high school drop out. _

_Owen Jasper, son of Angela and Jonathan Jasper, is a life time member at the Tulsa Country Club and an award winning running back at Tulsa High School where he has been on the honor roll for all three years in attendance. Mulgrew remarked, "with Owen's charm, athletic good looks and intelligence it is no surprise that he is one of the most sought after young men by Tulsa debutants. It is not a surprise that he was elected the Winter Formal King. The surprise lies in his choice for Queen". _

The last few words caught me off guard. I looked up from the article and my blue eyes met with Darry's eyes. I frowned, "I never thought I'd read all about us in the Social page."

"Me neither, but it wasn't that bad of an article."

I looked back at my brother in disbelief. "They said you went from honor roll to working two jobs. Not to mention they completely smeared Soda for being a high school drop out!"

"So what!" Sodapop yelled from the couch and rose to his feet. "It's no lie." He walked over to the table and turned the newspaper page. Inside was a two-page spread of pictures from the event. Soda pointed. "Did you see this? This is a great picture of the two of you."

I looked at the photo of Owen carrying me into the foyer. The caption read: Owen Jasper sweeps his date, Scout Curtis, off her feet before attending the Winter Formal Dance. The picture put a smile on my face. "We sure make a cute couple, don't we?"

"No!" Darry answered dryly.

"Sure you do!" Soda argued knowing Darry was just hoping to avoid the inevitable romance.

Ponyboy stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel just in time to hear the dispute. "What's going on?"

Sodapop twisted around to look at his brother, "Don't you think Owen and Scout make a cute couple?"

Pony looked at Darry's scowl then shook his head. "I'm staying out of this one."

"Good choice!" Darry barked playfully then turned to me. "Scout, I still think you are too young to date."

"Awe, come on Darry!" I said, "no one else thinks so. Besides, I really like Owen….and he loves me." Darry's mouth dropped open just a little, but no words came out. I cocked one eyebrow hoping Darry wasn't going to explode. My brother's silence seemed to call for an explanation. "He just told me last night, and I'm pretty sure I love him too." I looked over at Ponyboy, whose eyes were as round as teacup saucers. I looked to Sodapop who was on the verge of busting up with laughter and then back to Darry who seemed to be in shock. Then the phone rang, breaking the silence and temporarily ending all impending conversation.

Soda answered the call and looked towards me. "Scout, it's Owen." I watched as Soda pulled the phone over to the dining room table and looked with a smirk to Darry.

My brothers listened to my conversation.

"Hello? Hi Owen. I do? But I don't really have anything nice to wear! At noon? Well okay, I'll tell Darry. See you soon." On the other end, Owen said I love you, but I just said goodbye because I knew better then to tell that to Owen when Darry was around.

"What's that all about?" Pony asked.

"I have to get ready to go. Owen's parents are taking me to lunch at the Country Club."

"Um," Darry questioned, "don't you think you need to ask my permission first?"

I looked to my brother with a growing independence he wasn't ready for, "Well Darry, I am their Queen, I can't not go!" Without waiting for his permission I moseyed into the bathroom to get ready for my lunch date.

In the background, before I closed the bathroom door, I heard Sodapop taunting his older brother. "Well Superman! Looks like the Queen has spoken. You have your hands full now!"

I shut the door and hear the loud thump of Darry tackling his little buddy to the living room floor. The sound of rough play in the living room made me laugh. I was sure life was finally taking a turn for the better, and I couldn't be happier.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

120 since Sodapop held my battered body in his arms and prayed for God to spare my life. 116 days since the hospital chaplain told Darry to gather the family to say good bye to their baby sister. 91 days since I opened my eyes to find Darry holding a vigil by my side in the hospital room. 78 days since I first heard Owen tell me that he loved me while the soft music played and the lights dance around us at the Winter Formal. 66 days since my family celebrated our first Christmas out of our neighborhood, as guests at the Jasper mansion. 55 days since my first day back at school with Casey by my side. 40 days since I realized the Socials Owen kept as friends were nothing like the Socs who drank during the day and reeked havoc in our neighborhood for their own amusement. 30 days since all of my hard work paid off. With Ponyboy by my side I jogged all the way around my block for the first time. 22 days since Sodapop pulled me into his room to tell me a secret. He pretty sure he was in love with Casey. I wasn't surprised, Soda seems to fall fast and hard for any girl that will love him back. 12 days since Ponyboy and I began waking up the house with nightmares again. 3 days since Darry, Sodapop, Ponyboy and I walked into the cemetery and placed roses on the headstones that bared our parent's names.

So many days had passed, but by Friday afternoon I had as much of Two-Bit Matthews as I could handle. "Enough already!" I screamed and slammed my hands down onto my math book. "I have enough work to do on my own! I don't have time for your little games and funny jokes."

My comments only made the young man laugh and he tried to look serious as he drew his attention back to his schoolbook. Two-Bit had changed so much in the past months. It was already two months into the new-year and he still had his part-time job at the grocery store.

For which I lost a ten dollar bet with Sodapop. I thought for sure Two-Bit would get caught for stealing something from the grocery store, but Sodapop bet me he wouldn't. Of course before the handshake I had to clarify with my brother that he meant Two-Bit wouldn't steal anything and not that he just wouldn't get caught stealing something. Soda won because Two-Bit was a changed man. He seemed to be committed to working for a brighter future for himself. He cut back on his beer and parties and was even focused on graduating from high school. That's why he was studying with me. Ever since I went back to school for the second semester Two-Bit joined me every afternoon to do homework together. He usually behaved.

Two-Bit looked across the dining room table at me again and playfully whispered. "Sissy….Sissy I got another question for you."

I looked up from my algebraic formula and glared across the table at him. "This better be something you can't figure out on your own."

Two-Bit tried hard to suppress a laugh. "What's twenty nine times zero?" I rolled my eyes and Two-Bit roared with laughter.

My agitation with him built up. "That's it Keith Matthews! You are out of here! I am not gonna help you with your homework if you are going to screw around! I have had it with you!" Two-Bit laughed and threw his head back causing his chair to tip over. He crashed to the floor laughing even harder. "Get out! Get out of my house so I can get this homework done!" I demanded, walked around the dining room table and pulled at Two-Bit's arm. He pulled back yanking my body to the floor next to him. Frustrated by his insistent laughter I slapped him on the arm a few times and he grabbed tightly to my wrists.

"Scout?" Two-Bit's eyes were sincere as he lay next to me propped up on one elbow. "How come you don't laugh with me anymore like you used?"

"Cause I'm busy, and you are pissing my off, that's why." I said and pulled one of my wrists free from his grasp. "Why don't _you_ ever take anything serious?"

Two-Bit's laughter ceased but his grin remained. "I do take things serious."

"Oh yeah?" I said sarcastically. "Name one thing."

"Well…" The grin faded and he acted as if he was thinking really hard. "I take you serious."

I raised my eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"You're as smart as your mama was. You've known what's best for me all these months. I can't spend the rest of my life horsing around. If I do I'll never get a girl like you to care about me." The comment surprised me and I became more aware of how warm and soft Two-Bit's hand was on my wrist. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes and noticing him staring back at me. My heart pounded nervously inside my chest and my body grew flush. Slowly, Two-Bit inched his face forward readying himself to be brave enough to kiss me. I felt his warm breath on my face and thought through my emotions. Something in me wondered for a moment what it would be like to kiss him.

The creaking of the front door shocked the two of us as we lay together on the dining room floor. We scrambled to our feet and tried to make what was obvious to us not obvious to who ever came through the door.

"Hey Scout?" Owen stepped into the living room with a smile.

"O!" I sighed and walked towards him. He gathered me up in a hug and kissed my lips. Inside, all of the emotions I had been worried about moments ago were swept away.

"You told me you'd be ready to go by five." Owen stated.

I had to think hard, then the scheduled date popped into my brain. "Oh yeah! I had just been caught up in my homework, give me just a minute." I quickly looked towards Two-Bit to be sure he kept our encounter quiet, then I ran back to my bedroom.

Owen, dressed in sweatpants and a school sweatshirt, strolled over to the dining room table and sat down. "How's the homework going?" He asked Two-Bit as part of idle chit chat.

"Not bad." I was just about finished. Two-Bit folded up his books. "So what are you two headed off to do?"

"Play football." Owen said with a smile. He loved to play football just as much as Darry did.

Two-Bit looked up with a rarely seen concern in his eyes. "Football? You sure Sissy is ready for that? She aint even played with us since before the accident."

Owen shrugged his shoulders. "She's the one who said she was ready."

"Who you playing with?" Two-Bit questioned.

"Some guys from the team and school. We get together once or twice a month and play over at Morrison's field."

"Tackle?"

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they'll go easy on her." Owen said, "she says you all play tackle all the time."

"Uh uh, She's not ready to play tackle." Two-Bit shook his head in disagreement as I walked back into the dining room dressed in a sweat suit and tennis shoes. "Sissy, I don't think you ought to be playing tackle football! Does Darry know about this?"

I looked at Two-Bit with a grin, "Darry knows, and don't worry _dad_ I'll be fine. I've been back on my feet for a long time now. Plus, the doc says I'm fine too."

"You sure?" Two-Bit questioned again. "I don't want to see you get hurt again."

I shook my head. "I'm sure. Besides, Darry says he's gonna get a game together this Sunday at the lot. So I'm playing this weekend anyway you look at it."

"Yeah…but we're family." Two-Bit's puppy dog eyes blinked with apprehension. "Maybe I should go with and look out for you."

I smiled. Owen stood up to show his strong, athletic stature to Two-Bit, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll look out for her." The two of us headed out of the house and didn't hear Two-Bit mumble.

"Yeah, right."

Owen pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot at Morrison's field just as the sun began to set along the horizon. I eyed the grandstands and the 6 foot high chain link fence that surrounded the junior high school field. "O, when we play in the dark at the lot we use the headlights from the cars. How are we going to be able to play here after the sun goes down?"

"Matt's dad is the school superintendent. He gives us the key to the fence and the lights."

I nodded my head just as the lights from the field flashed on. Owen and I walked hand in hand to the field where a large group of Soc's from school had gathered. My heart picked up a few extra beats and nervousness set in. I wasn't nervous about the social class I was joining. In fact, that wasn't an issue at all. I was accepted by Owen's friends. The problem was this was the first football game anyone had ever brought a girlfriend to, and the fifteen boys waiting to play the game were staring at me as I walked towards them.

"Owen!" Matt yelled and threw the football to the boy. "Glad you two could make it. Everyone is here, except the star quarterback you promised to bring."

Peter yelled into the conversation. "Yeah! What's this I hear about you thinking there's a better quarterback out there than me?"

Owen through his hand up on Pete's sturdy shoulder and spoke matter of fact. "I hate to break it to you ole buddy, but there's one other guy I know who plays the position better than you."

A slender boy with short blond haircut looked past Owen and interrupted the conversation. "Who's that guy?"

Everyone strained to see the tall, muscular man walking into the field, his face and image shadowed by the bright setting sun behind him.

Owen smiled with pride. "That's my quarterback for the day, Darrell Curtis." My eyes went wide in realization that Owen would care enough to ask Darry to the game. The boys in the crowd whooped and hollered about the past high school a football star coming to play along side of them. Quickly teams were established based on who wanted to play with Darry and who wanted to play against him.

My brother walked up to the group with the tough look on his face he seemed to wear too often. He reached his hand out to shake my boyfriend's hand. "Owen, thanks for inviting me."

"No problem. I'm glad you could come. Are you ready to play?"

"Let's go." Darry answered and then tussled my hair and gave me a look that told me he would be keeping a close watch on me during the game.

"Wait just a second." The slender blond boy spoke up. "I just want to get a few things straight. The girl here, she's playing right?"

"Right," Owen said, "and her name is Scout."

The boy spoke again. "And we are playing tackle, right?"

"Yeah John, we're playing tackle," Owen answered again. "Don't worry. She doesn't need any special treatment. She's played tackle football before."

John grinned. "I just wanted to be sure I understood, that's all." With that clarified he called his team into a huddle and began to assign positions and team strategies.

Owen called his team together as well. The nine of us stood in a circle. I looked around at who I knew besides Darry and Owen. One boy Craig had a locker a few down from mine. He was a quite boy with black curly hair. Steve was more of a wild boy, he never could focus on much and he always had to be fiddling with something. I was betting he would be good at football, because he was always full of energy. Alex was the last boy I recognized. He had stunning blue eyes that were in constant contrast with his jet black hair. The other three boys I didn't know. They were freshman friends of Matt's younger brother Mark. Owen introduced them as Phil, Jeff and Dan.

Matt won the coin toss and elected to get the ball first. The teams lined up on the full sized field and Owen asked, "Who's gonna punt this pig skin into the end zone?"

"I will." Phil reached for the ball and Darry grabbed it away from him.

"Scout will." Darry said in his deep 'don't mess with me' voice.

Phil and his two freshman friends laughed before Phil disagreed and pointed down field. "When Jasper said he wanted it in the end zone, I'm pretty sure he meant the one down there."

Darry didn't comment and didn't argue. Instead he looked down at me and put the ball in my hands. "Kick the ball, Scout."

I felt the nervousness begin to build inside my gut again. I appreciated the fact that Darry was confident in my ability to play the game, but I was terrified I'd make a fool of myself on the very first play. My team lined up for the punt. I had no choice but to follow through with my assignment. One of the boys yelled "go" to start the game and I held the ball out in front of me between my hands. I took two large steps and kicked the ball as hard as I could. The boys on my team took off running as I stood still, marveling at the sight of the ball soaring down field through the air.

For almost an hour I played the position of wide receiver. For the better part of the evening, Darry didn't throw me the ball. I figured he just didn't want to see me get hurt. He launched the ball my way a handful of times. Each time I caught the ball and moved it forward. By the time the score was 28 to 14 the other team was getting a little rougher. We lined up at the 50 yard line. Darry called out the count and I took off for the end zone. My brother looked around and saw I was open for the pass. I glanced over my shoulder and knew he was considering not throwing it to me, but he knew the pass was his only option. He threw the long ball into the air. I reached up and snagged it at the same time John tackled my body hard to the ground. The impact was painful, but I knew better than to cry. I lay on the ground a few seconds and waited for the pulsing pain to pass.

John instinctively jumped to his feet and looked at Owen and Darry who were coming up on him. "I didn't mean to hit her so hard. It just happened. I thought she …"

Owen pushed him aside and knelt next to Darry who was kneeling by my side. I smiled to convince everyone that I was fine. I sat up. "Nice hit John."

Darry looked me over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" I said and stood up. My legs wobbled and shook beneath me. "I'm fine, but I think I'm done for the night."

John walked over to me. "Scout, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." I put my hand on John's shoulder. "I was getting tired anyway. I am just going to sit in the stands and watch."

Owen wrapped his arm around my waist and walked with me to the benches. "Scout, are you sure you are alright?"

"I'm good. I really am. Truth was I was getting tired awhile ago."

"Why don't we just call the game over. I don't have to play anymore."

"No!" I looked up at him. "I think Darry's having a really good time. I don't want to see that end for him too soon."

I climbed the wooden stairs and sat down in the front row. Owen looked up at me with a goofy grin. He grabbed my hand. "I love you."

I blushed. "I love you too." I leaned forward and quickly kissed his lips. He kissed me back then turned and jogged back to the game. I leaned forward and crossed my arms on the cold metal rail in front of me. I rested my chin on my arms and watched as Darry called out another play. He looked so happy out there that I didn't want to take the opportunity away from him. His only love was football, and he gave that up for us. Sitting in the stands so he could enjoy the game on a real football field underneath the lights was the least I could do to pay him back.

As I sat alone in the stands, I couldn't help but feel that my parents were there too. I remembered how we would go as a family to Darry's games. Sodapop would vanish into the crowd in the first few minutes. Dad always made us go early so he could be in his favorite seat on the fifty yard line, twenty rows up. Mom would pack bologna sandwiches and a bottle of milk in her picnic basket. Ponyboy and I would sit together. Johnny would often tag along and sit next to Pony. I always sat next to dad and snuggled into his side to keep warm on chilly nights. I remember looking up at my father as he watched. He would chew on a toothpick and tap his foot to keep his anxiety down. He was funny how he would yell to Darry from the stands. Mother would always laugh and look up at him to say, "Darrell, you know he can't hear a word you are saying."

My dad would look at her, his blue eyes shining. "I know that Maggie."

I sighed deeply and leaned back from the metal rail and watched as Darry ran down the field for a touchdown. He jumped in celebration. I smiled and didn't care how late it got or how cold I was getting. I would sacrifice my comfort for Darry, because he had sacrificed his dreams for me.

_ The End_

_Thank you to all who have enjoyed this story! Set your author alert. I hope to have a new part to the series posted soon! Erinskie_


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